RECOLLECTIONS   OF  THIRTEEN 
PRESIDENTS 


Copyright,  1904,  by  Arthur  llcwi 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 

The  twenty-sixth  president  of  the  United  States.  \Vas  elected  vice- 
president,  Nov  4,  1900,  and  succeeded  to  the  presidency  on  the 
death  of  William  McKinley,  September  14,  1901. 


Recollections   of 
Thirteen  Presidents 


By 

John    S.    Wise 

Author  of  "The  Lion's  Skin," 

"The    End    of   an    Era," 

"Diomed,"  etc. 


Illustrated 


New  York 

Doubleday,  Page  &  Company 
1906 


c"/7 


Copyright,  1905,  by 
The  Curtis  Publishing  Company 


Copyright,  1906,  by 

Doubleday,  Page  &  Company 

Published,       May,       1906 


All  rights  reserved, 

including  that  of  translation  into  foreign  language 
including  the  Scandinavian. 


INTRODUCTION 

Since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  in  1789  twenty-six  individuals  have 
been  Presidents  in  this  country,  of  whom  twenty- 
five  were  Presidents  of  the  United  States,  and  one 
of  the  Confederate  States.  Here  they  are : 

1.  Washington,  from  1789  to  1797. 

2.  John  Adams,  from  1797  to  1801. 

3.  Thomas  Jefferson,  from  1801  to  1809. 

4.  James  Madison,  from  1809  to  1817. 

5.  James  Monroe,  from  1817  to  1825. 

6.  John  Quincy  Adams,  from  1825  to  1829. 

7.  Andrew  Jackson,  from  1829  to  1837. 

8.  Martin  Van  Buren,  from  1837  to  1841. 

9.  William   Henry   Harrison,   from    1841    until 
his  death. 

10.  John  Tyler,  from  1841  to  1845. 

11.  James  K.  Polk,  from  1845  to  ^49- 

12.  Zachary  Taylor,  from  1849  until  his  death. 

13.  Millard  Filmore,  from  1850  to  1853. 

14.  Franklin  Pierce,  from  1853  to  1857. 

15.  James  Buchanan,  from  1857  to  1861. 

1 6.  Abraham  Lincoln,  from  1861  until  his  death. 

17.  Andrew  Johnson,  from  1865  to  1869. 

1 8.  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  from  1869  to  1877. 

19.  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  from  1877  to  1881. 

20.  James  A.  Garfield,  from  1881  until  his  death. 

21.  Chester  A.  Arthur,  from  1 88 1  to  1885. 

22.  Grover  Cleveland,  from  1885  to  1889  and 
1893  to  1897. 


23.  Benjamin  Harrison,  from  1889  to  1893. 

24.  William    McKinley,    from    1897    until    his 
death. 

25.  Theodore  Roosevelt,  from  1902  to  date. 

26.  Jefferson  Davis,  President  of  the  Confederate 
States  of  America,  from  1861  to  1865. 

The  statement  made  by  any  man  that  he  has 
personally  known  one-half  of  these  statesmen  is 
calculated  to  create  the  impression  that  he  is  old. 
Yet  before  I  was  fifty-five  years  old  I  had  per 
sonal  acquaintance  with  John  Tyler,  Franklin 
Pierce,  James  Buchanan,  Jefferson  Davis,  Andrew 
Johnson,  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  Rutherford  B.  Hayes, 
James  A.  Garfield,  Chester  A.  Arthur,  Grover 
Cleveland,  Benjamin  Harrison,  William  McKinley 
and  Theodore  Roosevelt. 

Believing  that  the  following  reminiscences  and 
anecdotes  of  these  men  will  prove  interesting,  they 
have  been  written  with  no  ambitious  purpose  and 
perhaps  originated  in  personal  vanity.  But  even 
if  that  be  so,  it  is  hoped  that  they  will  nevertheless 
prove  entertaining  to  that  large  class  which  is 
always  interested  in  the  personalities  of  prominent 
men. 

The  reader  will  catch  glimpses  of  these  great 
men  quite  different  from  their  presentation  by  the 
ordinary  historian  or  biographer,  and  may  form 
some  idea  of  how  they  looked  and  how  they  acted 
in  everyday  life,  without  seeing  too  much  of  their 
greatness  or  their  plans  of  government. 

He  will  be  quick  to  discern  also,  the  difference 
between  the  impressions  made  by  the  oldest  upon 
a  child,  and  those  made  in  later  years  upon  a  man. 
Still  later  upon  a  contemporary — and  lastly  by  a 
President  who  is  younger  than  the  writer. 


Without  more  of  introduction  let  us  proceed 
with  the  description,  after  noting  one  single  reflec 
tion.  We  often  hear  the  term  "  accident "  applied 
to  men  of  great  political  prominence.  There  may 
be,  and  doubtless  are,  instances  of  such  accidents ; 
but  none  of  the  men  who  have  attained  to  the 
Presidency  of  the  United  States,  whether  by  elec 
tion  or  succession,  or  to  the  Presidency  of  the 
dead  Confederacy,  were  either  "accidental"  or 
ordinary  men. 

Every  one  of  them  has  possessed  individuality, 
strength  of  character,  commanding  personality 
and  dominating  force,  which  stamped  him  as  far 
and  away  above  mediocrity,  and  so  marked  him 
as  a  leader,  that  to  refer  to  him  as  an  ordinary  man 
elevated  to  his  position  by  accident,  is  grossly  er 
roneous,  or  weakly  invidious;  for  men  do  not 
attain  positions  of  such  importance  by  accident. 
Some  great  quality,  whether  of  heroism  or  states 
manship  or  popularity  or  political  management, 
leads  to  their  preferment.  No  verse  in  poetry  ever 
written  expressed  the  truth  more  forcibly  than  the 
lines — 

"The  heights  by  great  men  reached  and  kept 

Were  not  attained  by  sudden  flight, 
But  they  while  their  companions  slept 
Were  toiling  upward  in  the  night. " 


CONTENTS 

CHAFTEK  PAGK 

I.  JOHN  TYLER    ......  3 

II.  FRANKLIN  PIERCE        .                .  35    f  #  <>' 

III.  JAMES  BUCHANAN-  %       .        .        .  '53    /<f 

IV.  JEFFERSON  DAVIS         .        .        .        .  67 

V.  ANDREW  JOHNSON    ....  101 

VI.  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT    r.        .       .        .  115 

VII.  RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES          .        .  133 

VIII.  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD  ....  145 

IX.  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR     .        .        .  155 

X.  GROVER  CLEVELAND           .        .        .  171 

XI.  BENJAMIN  HARRISON      .        .        .  195 

XII.  WILLIAM  McKiNLEY         .         .        .  213 

XIII.  THEODORE  ROOSEVELT  .        .        .  237 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT  (1902  to )  .         .   Frontispiece 

FACING  PACK 

JOHN  TYLER  (1841-45) 4 

HENRY  A.  WISE  (Statesman  and  Orator,  Born  Dec.  3, 

1806;  Died  Sept.  12,  1876) 8 

FRANKLIN  PIERCE  (1853-57) 36 

JAMES  BUCHANAN  (1857-61) 54 

Miss  HARRIET  LANE    (Mistress  of   the  White  House, 

(i857-6i)      •                 58 

JEFFERSON  DAVIS  (First  and  only  President  of  the  Con 
federacy,  (1861-65)        68 

ANDREW  JOHNSON  (1865-69)         .....  102 

ULYSSES  S.  GRANT  (1869-77) 116 

RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES  (1877-81)    .        .        .  134 

JAMES  ABRAM  GARFIELD  (1881  until  his  death)    .         .  146 

CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR  (1881-85) 156 

GROVER  CLEVELAND  (1885-89  and  1893-97)           .         .  172 

BENJAMIN  HARRISON  (1889-93) 19^ 

WILLIAM  McKiNLEY  (1897  until  his  death)           .         .  214 
MARK  HANNA  (U.  S.  Senator  from  Ohio)     ,        ,        ,218 


JOHN  TYLER 


I.-JOHN  TYLER 

OH !  FOR  an  hour  of  the  happy  childhood  in 
which  I  first  laid  eyes  upon  ex- President 
Tyler.  It  was  in  the  early  fifties.  I 
was  a  little  bit  of  a  freckled-faced  boy,  with  the 
skin  peeling  off  my  nose  and  sun-blisters  on 
my  mouth,  bare-footed  and  bare-headed.  My 
father,  who  was  devoted  to  his  children  and  loved 
their  companionship,  had  taken  me  with  him 
upon  a  fishing  trip  to  the  Virginia  Capes.  We 
had  spent  a  glorious  week  upon  a  sloop,  and  I 
had  fished  and  bathed  and  run  about  upon  the 
shore  until  I  was  burned  and  blistered.  When 
the  time  came  for  our  return  to  civilisation  my 
underwear  was  a  veritable  shirt  of  Nessus  upon 
my  blistered  back,  and  Jim,  my  father's  valet, 
spent  hours  smearing  me  with  buttermilk  and 
other  remedies  to  alleviate  the  pain  before  I  could 
wear  my  shirt  with  any  comfort.  When  our 
excursion  was  ended  our  sloop,  in  order  to  save 
time,  sailed  out  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay  from 
Fisherman's  Inlet  at  the  point  of  Cape  Charles, 
hailed  the  Northampton  which  plied  daily  between 
Cherrystone  upon  the  Eastern  Shore  and  Old 
Point  Comfort,  and  our  party  was  transferred 
in  the  middle  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  leaving  our 


4  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

sailing  vessel  to  return  at  her  leisure.  The  bay 
was  rough  and  the  transfer  was  no  easy  matter, 
with  the  sloop  and  steamer  bobbing  up  and 
down,  side  by  side.  I  hesitated  about  making 
the  leap  from  our  boat  to  the  steamer.  My 
father  had  no  patience  with  timidity.  After  I 
had  blinked  one  or  two  good  opportunities  to 
jump,  he  lost  patience,  seized  me  by  the  collar 
and  seat  of  my  trousers  and  tossed  me  mer 
cilessly  across  the  boiling  waters  into  the  arms 
of  a  sailor  standing  at  the  gangway.  Safely 
aboard,  we  soon  reached  Old  Point,  and  thence 
she  headed  for  Hampton,  at  which  point  boats 
in  those  days  touched  on  their  way  to  Norfolk. 

Old  Point  was  nothing  like  it  is  now.  None 
of  the  great  hotels  were  built.  The  old  Hygeia 
located  near  the  sally-port  of  the  fortress,  was  a 
small  affair.  Few  of  the  officers'  quarters  now 
seen  outside  the  fort  were  built.  The  causeway 
which  now  leads  to  Phoebus  was  not  constructed. 
Land  was  reached  by  a  long  bridge.  Where  the 
town  of  Phoebus  is  now  built  up  was  farming 
land.  A  small  female  college  occupied  the  present 
site  of  the  Soldiers'  Home.  There  were  no 
railroads  of  any  kind  upon  the  whole  peninsula 
between  the  York  and  James,  and  upon  the  great 
Newport  News  plantation,  now  the  site  of  the 
thriving  city  with  ship  yards  and  a  population 
of  thousands,  not  a  dozen  people,  white  and 
black,  resided.  Hampton  was  the  only  place  in 


JOHN  TYLER 

The  tenth  president  of  the  United  States.  Was  elected  vice-president  in 
1840,  and  by  the  death  of  President  Harrison,  became  president  April 
4,  1841. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  5 

the  vicinity  of  Fortress  Monroe  with  any  con 
siderable  population.  That  old  settlement  ante 
dates  the  first  coming  of  the  English,  for  when 
John  Smith  and  his  companions  arrived  at  Point 
Comfort  in  April  of  1607  they  found  on  the 
present  site  of  Hampton  the  thriving  Indian 
village  of  Kickotan,  and  often  returned  there 
from  Jamestown,  in  the  "  starving  time,"  to  buy 
corn  from  the  Indians.  I  remember  that  my 
father  pointed  out  to  me  then,  or  at  some  other 
time,  the  place  at  which  John  Smith,  in  his 
narrative,  claimed  to  have  shot  an  immense 
number  of  wild  fowl,  in  company  with  two  com 
panions,  when  he  went  to  Hampton  to  buy  corn 
in  the  winter  of  1608.  While,  with  a  boy's 
eagerness,  I  was  taking  in  all  the  points  of  interest, 
the  wind  blew  my  hat  overboard,  for  which  my 
father  gave  me  a  sound  lecture  about  carelessness, 
not  ended  when  the  steamer  slowed  up  at  the 
Hampton  Wharf.  There,  among  the  crowd  wait 
ing  for  the  steamer,  stood  a  striking-looking  old 
gentleman,  whose  face,  the  instant  he  saw  my 
father  upon  the  deck,  beamed  with  recognition, 
and  to  whose  joyous  greetings  my  father  made 
prompt  reply,  forgetting  all  about  the  lecture 
on  the  loss  of  my  hat  in  his  delight  at  meeting  an 
old  friend. 

"  Why,  there  is  President  Tyler,"  he  exclaimed. 
But  that  announcement  was  hardly  necessary, 
for  those  around  Mr.  Tyler  were  bidding  him 


6  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

good-bye  with  such  cordiality  and  showing  him 
such  marked  deference  and  attention  that  there 
was  no  mistaking  his  being  an  unusually  important 
personage. 

As  soon  as  the  gangplank  was  down  he  came 
aboard  and  hurried  up  to  the  promenade  deck 
where  we  were.  He  and  my  father  greeted  each 
other  with  almost  boyish  ardour.  He  was  then 
over  sixty  years  old.  Yet,  as  I  remember  him, 
he  mounted  the  companion-way  with  a  step  almost 
agile,  and  his  voice,  while  rather  thin  and  high 
and  piping,  was  exceedingly  agreeable  and  sym 
pathetic. 

Mr.  Tyler  was,  in  appearance,  of  the  old- 
fashioned  type  of  country  gentleman  then  quite 
common  but  nowadays  almost  extinct.  Occasion 
ally  one  comes  across  it,  even  to  this  day,  in 
the  Middle  West,  but  rarely  elsewhere.  He  was  a 
tall,  thin,  flat,  clean-shaven  man,  attired  in  neat 
but  not  over-new  black  broadcloth.  He  wore 
a  standing  collar,  open  at  the  throat,  with  a  soft 
black  neckcloth  with  long  pointed  ends.  His 
waistcoat  was  cut  low,  displaying  a  spotless  shirt 
bosom  of  fine  material.  I  think  he  wore  calfskin 
boots.  I  remember  being  as  much  impressed 
by  his  narrow,  flat  feet  and  long,  thin  fingers  as 
by  his  striking  face.  His  head  was  well  turned 
and  carried  high  upon  a  thin  but  muscular  neck. 
The  Adam's  apple  at  the  throat  was  prominent, 
and,  in  its  constant  play,  an  object  well  calculated 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  7 

to  fix  the  absorbed  attention  of  the  small  boy. 
He  had  a  high,  receding  forehead,  from  which  his 
thin  light  hair,  not  very  gray,  was  brushed  back, 
a  prominent  beak-like  Roman  nose,  and  a  chin  not 
strong  and  aggressive  enough  to  suit  my  ideal  of 
to-day.  His  eye,  blue  as  I  remember  it,  was 
open,  bright,  clear  and  kind,  and  his  mouth 
firm  and  pure  and  sweet  in  expression.  Goodness 
and  kindness  and  love  and  sympathy  for  his 
neighbours  enveloped  him  like  an  atmosphere, 
and  few  men  came  under  the  spell  of  his  personal 
attractiveness  without  feeling  kindly  toward  Mr. 
Tyler,  whether  they  agreed  with  his  political 
views  or  not.  I  think  this  indescribable  sympathy 
and  charity  for  all  mankind  was  one  of  the  most 
potent  factors  in  his  political  triumphs.  He 
was  sixteen  years  older  than  my  father,  so  that 
when  he  attained  the  Presidency  in  1841,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-one,  my  father,  then  in  Congress, 
was  but  thirty-five,  a  difference  in  age  which 
seems  much  greater  at  that  period  in  life  than 
when  men  grow  older  together. 

When  Harrison  and  Tyler  were  candidates  my 
father  was  a  fiery,  impetuous,  eloquent  young 
Whig  representative  in  Congress  from  Virginia, 
who  had  denounced  Van  Burenism  with  all  the 
power  of  his  fierce  invective.  He  went  in  the 
Harrison  and  Tyler  coalition  of  1840  with  heart 
and  soul,  to  accomplish  the  overthrow  of  what 
was  known  as  the  " Spoils"  system  of  the  Democ- 


8  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

racy.  Heartily  with  him,  but  upon  much  more 
conservative  lines,  was  his  father-in-law  and  my 
grandfather,  John  Sergeant  of  Philadelphia,  who 
was  also  a  Whig  member  of  the  lower  House. 
Mr.  Sergeant  was  at  that  time  over  sixty  years 
of  age;  a  thorough  paced  Federalist;  a  Bank  man; 
a  devoted  admirer  of  Henry  Clay;  and  a  Whig 
who  centred  all  his  hopes  upon  the  election  of 
General  Harrison. 

A  coalition  between  the  Whigs  and  the  Anti- 
Van  Buren  Democrats  was  the  only  means  by 
which  the  defeat  of  Van  Buren  could  be  accom 
plished.  That  coalition  was  brought  about  by 
the  selection  of  John  Tyler  of  Virginia,  an  Anti- 
Van  Buren  Democrat,  as  the  candidate  for  Vice- 
President  upon  the  ticket  with  General  Harrison, 
whose  antecedents  were  Whig  and  Federalist. 

The  record  of  Mr.  Tyler  was  perfectly  well  known 
when  he  was  nominated.  My  father,  his  fellow 
Virginian  and  personal  friend,  saw  in  him  the 
material  for  strengthening  the  coalition  and, 
from  the  Whig  side,  was  largely  instrumental  in 
securing  his  nomination.  It  brought  to  the  sup 
port  of  the  movement  many  votes  which  would 
not  have  been  cast  for  it  otherwise.  Everybody 
remembers  the  coon-skin  and  hard-cider  campaign 
of  1840.  'Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  Too"  swept 
the  country. 

My  father  in  that  campaign  made  his  famous 
speech,  in  which  he  uttered  the  sentiment,  "The 


HENRY    A.   WISE 
Statesman  and  Orator.    Born  December  3,  1806;  died  September  12,  1876. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  9 

union  of  the  Whigs  for  the  sake  of  the  Union." 
He  was  himself  re-elected  to  Congress  from 
Virginia,  and  my  grandfather,  Mr.  Sergeant,  an 
ardent  supporter  of  Harrison  and  Tyler,  was  also 
re-elected,  without  opposition,  from  the  old  silk- 
stocking  district  in  Philadelphia. 

Up  to  this  time  General  Harrison  was  of  course 
the  dominant  figure  in  the  movement.  Mr. 
Tyler  was  a  mere  incident.  The  Whig  triumph 
seemed  complete,  for,  even  had  Mr.  Tyler  been 
disposed  to  antagonise  Whig  policies  or  measures, 
he  could  not  have  accomplished  much  in  the 
position  of  Vice-President.  It  is  not  likely,  how 
ever,  that  if  General  Harrison  had  lived  there 
would  have  been  any  friction  between  Mr.  Tyler 
and  the  Whig  party.  While  as  Vice-President 
he  might  not  have  become  champion  of  their 
bank  and  tariff  views,  he  would  not,  perhaps, 
have  made  any  assault  upon  them,  and  would 
have  contented  himself  with  vigorous  advocacy 
of  other  reform  measures,  directed  against  abuses 
which  had  led  to  the  popular  uprising  against 
Van  Burenism. 

Never  were  the  hopes  of  the  Whig  party  so  high 
as  when  General  Harrison  was  inaugurated.  He  was 
an  old  man,  not  much  of  a  politician.  He  was  a 
pronounced  Whig  and  a  great  admirer  of  Mr.  Clay. 
Clay  was  the  idol  of  the  Whigs.  His  hold  upon 
them  was  something  marvellous.  The  secret  of 
that  hold  is  almost  incomprehensible  in  our  day. 


io  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

Mr.  Clay  was  a  passionate,  dissipated  man,  of 
exceedingly  boisterous  and  loose  modes  of  living, 
often  indulging  in  carouses  and  excesses  which 
would  have  alienated  and  driven  away  conserva 
tive  support  from  almost  anyone  else.  But  his 
excesses,  instead  of  sapping  his  influence  and 
alienating  his  Puritan  following,  seemed  to  draw 
it  closer  to  him.  It  was  deaf  to  all  suggestions 
of  his  fallibility.  My  grandfather  was  a  con 
spicuous  instance  of  this.  He  was  a  formal, 
undemonstrative  Philadelphia  lawyer  of  Puritan 
antecedents;  had  begun  life  under  a  Quaker; 
had  grown  up  in  the  strictest  abstinence  and  self- 
denial,  and  lived  in  an  atmosphere  of  temperate, 
cleanly  domestic  life.  In  business  he  was  a 
model  of  precision  and  punctiliousness.  He  and 
his  neighbour,  Horace  Binney,  between  whom 
and  himself  a  life -long  intimacy  existed,  were 
preeminently  types  of  that  frugal,  industrious, 
studious,  ever- watchful  man  of  the  time  de 
scribed  by  the  then  popular  phrase  "  a  Philadelphia 
lawyer."  He  participated  in  political  struggles 
as  much  from  a  sense  of  duty  as  from  any  desire 
for  their  honours.  The  emoluments  were  far 
below  those  of  professional  employments  which 
he  abandoned  temporarily  in  order  to  discharge, 
as  he  understood  it,  the  obligations  of  good 
citizenship.  So  distinguished  was  he  for  these 
Spartan  qualities,  the  very  opposites  of  Mr.  Clay, 
that  he  was  chosen  as  the  running  mate  of  Mr. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  n 

Clay  in  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1832.  The 
ticket  was  Clay  and  Sergeant.  The  eccentricities 
of  Mr.  Clay  did  not  in  the  least  degree  alienate 
or  weaken  the  admiration  and  devotion  to  him 
of  Mr.  Sergeant. 

"  Gallant  Harry  of  the  West,"  as  he  was  called  by 
his  followers,  might  spend  half  the  year  in  Washing 
ton,  drinking  brandy,  playing  "lou"  and  "brag" 
and  ''faro,"  horse  racing,  fighting  and  fomenting 
duels,  contracting  debts  he  could  not  pay,  indul 
ging  in  any  and  all  the  exuberant  dissipations  which 
his  recklessness  suggested,  while  men  of  the  type 
of  Mr.  Sergeant  led  their  simple,  frugal,  virtuous, 
orderly  lives,  with  almost  ascetic  ideals  of  temper 
ance  and  order  in  social  life  and  business.  They 
might  cross  off  from  their  Puritan  ledgers  others 
who  did  not  conform  to  their  rigorous  standards, 
which  were,  in  general,  narrow,  uncompromising 
and  exacting. 

But  there  was  one  man  to  whose  shortcomings 
they  were  deaf  and  dumb,  and  that  was  Henry 
Clay.  His  brilliant  talents  never  failed  to  summon 
them  to  arms,  like  a  beacon  set  upon  a  hill 
top  for  the  gathering  of  the  Highland  clans. 
To  the  day  of  his  death,  there  was  never  a  moment 
when  they  did  not  answer  his  call  with  the  bound 
ing  loyalty  of  clansmen  flocking  to  standard  at 
sight  of  the  burnt-cross  signal  sent  forth  by 
Rhoderick  Dhu. 

The  election  of  General  Harrison  was  believed 


12  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

by  the  Whigs  to  mark  the  inauguration  of  all 
their  pet  policies  of  bank  and  tariff. 

They  had  absolute  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  those 
measures.  The  future  seemed  full  of  promise. 
Mr.  Clay  was  their  high  priest.  With  him  to 
frame  and  secure  the  passage  of  these  laws,  and 
with  a  pliant  executive  to  approve  and  enforce 
them,  they  anticipated  first  an  era  of  great 
prosperity  to  the  country;  after  that  the  delayed 
reward  of  their  idol,  Clay,  by  electing  him  on 
the  strength  of  successful  administration  to  the 
Presidency;  and,  finally,  a  long  lease  of  power  to 
the  Whig  party.  It  was  an  intoxicating  hope 
rudely  shattered  by  an  unexpected  event.  And 
the  bitterness  attending  the  reaction  was  terrific. 

General  Harrison  was  sixty-eight  years  old 
when  elected.  He  had  led  a  life  of  great  exposure 
and  was  decrepit  beyond  his  years.  He  was 
literally  hand-shaken  to  death  by  his  exuberant 
friends  within  one  month  after  his  inauguration. 

At  the  time  this  occurred  Mr.  Tyler  resided  in 
Williamsburg,  Virginia.  He  wTas  a  man  of  simple 
domestic  tastes  with  no  talent  for  money-making. 
It  is  a  tribute  to  his  honesty  that  although  he 
and  his  father  before  him  had  been  in  public  life 
for  many  years,  with  many  opportunities  to  make 
money,  he  was  poor.  Among  his  most  intimate 
friends  at  the  time  was  the  late  William  S.  Peachy, 
a  distinguished  lawyer  of  the  old  "burg,"  and  a 
connection  of  mine  by  marriage.  The  people 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  13 

of  Williamsburg  were  devoted  to  Mr.  Tyler,  and 
cherished  his  memory  as  one  of  the  most  lovable 
men  who  ever  resided  there.  Mr.  Peachy  had  an 
inexhaustible  store  of  anecdotes  and  reminiscences 
concerning  him.  This  is  the  story  of  his  accession 
to  the  Presidency,  as  told  to  me  by  Mr.  Peachy: 

After  the  inauguration  Mr.  Tyler  had  returned 
from  Washington  to  Williamsburg.  His  life  at 
his  home  was  most  unpretentious,  There  were 
no  railroads,  and  it  required  several  days  to 
travel  from  Washington  to  Williamsburg.  The 
turmoil  of  the  capitol  was  unknown  and  almost 
unheard  of  in  the  primitive  community  of  Williams 
burg,  and  one  bright  April  afternoon  Mr.  Tyler, 
who  delighted  in  the  companionship  of  his  boys, 
was  engaged  with  them  in  a  game  of  marbles  in  a 
pathway  leading  to  his  home.  The  spot,  pointed 
out  to  me  by  Mr.  Peachy,  is  not  far  from  the  site 
of  the  old  Revolutionary  powder  magazine. 
Peachy,  who  was  a  young  lawyer,  with  residence 
and  office  not  far  distant,  had  been  attracted  to 
the  scene  of  the  game  by  the  hilarity  of  Mr. 
Tyler  and  his  sons.  They  were  playing  the  old- 
fashioned  game  of  "knucks"  and  the  infliction  of 
the  well-known  penalties  made  them  all  boisterous. 
Mr.  Tyler  had  to  take  his  punishment  along  with 
the  others,  and  when  it  was  his  turn  to  put  up 
the  "knucks"  his  boys  reveled  in  the  oppor 
tunity.  He  had  lost  and  was  actually  down 
upon  his  knee  with  knuckles  upon  the  ground, 


i4  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

taking  his  medicine  stoically  amidst  the  shouts  of 
the  by-standers,  when  a  stranger  drove  up  and 
inquired  for  "the  President."  Mr.  Tyler  arose 
and  told  him  who  he  was,  not  appropriating  to 
himself  the  title,  and  assuming  that  it  was  applied 
to  him  by  mistake.  The  stranger,  without  more 
ado,  delivered  his  dispatches,  which  were  in  deep 
mourning,  and  a  moment  later  Mr.  Tyler,  after 
breaking  the  seals  and  reading,  started  and 
exclaimed  in  great  distress,  "  My  God,  the  President 
is  dead! "  It  was  the  first  intimation  that  anyone 
in  Williamsburg  had  that  General  Harrison  was 
even  indisposed.  The  dispatch  bearer  had  been 
sent  by  a  chartered  sailboat  direct  from  Washing 
ton  to  Yorktown,  and  thence  made  his  way  by 
vehicle  to  Williamsburg.  One  may  well  imagine 
the  different  kinds  of  startling  effects  upon  the 
people  produced  by  this  announcement.  Up  to 
that  time  no  President  had  died  in  office  during 
the  fifty-two  years  in  which  the  Government  had 
existed.  Nobody  had  seriously  considered  the 
likelihood  of  this  contingency,  especially  so  soon 
after  the  inauguration.  It  was  a  great  and  novel 
national  calamity.  But,  great  as  its  effects  were 
elsewhere,  it  was  an  astounding  thing  to  Mr. 
Tyler  himself,  and  to  his  neighbours  and  associates, 
to  find  that  in  an  instant,  at  a  time  when  he  had 
no  thought  of  such  a  thing,  he  had  been  trans 
formed  by  accident  from  the  tertium  quid  of  the 
Vice-Presidency  into  a  full-fledged  President.  Mr. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  15 

Peachy  said  he  betrayed  unaffected  distress,  and  had 
no  thought  apparently  of  how  the  event  changed 
his  own  fortunes.  He  at  once  returned  to  his 
house,  with  the  tears  streaming  down  his  face, 
for  he  was  a  man  of  deep  emotions  and  was 
sincerely  attached  to  the  deceased  President. 
Later  in  the  evening  he  wrote  a  note  requesting 
Mr.  Peachy  to  come  to  his  residence.  Upon 
arrival  there  Peachy  found  him  arranging  for  an 
immediate  departure  for  Washington  by  the  same 
boat  that  had  brought  the  news  of  General  Harri 
son's  death.  After  some  general  conversation, 
the  President  confided  to  him,  with  manifest 
embarrassment,  that  he  did  not  have  the  means 
necessary  to  defray  the  expenses  of  his  journey 
to  Washington,  and  inquired  whether  he  could 
help  him  out  of  his  difficulties.  Peachy  laughed 
at  his  anxiety,  and  promptly  replied  that  it  was 
an  easy  matter  to  arrange. 

There  was  in  Williamsburg  then,  as  there  always 
is  in  places  like  it,  a  thrifty  merchant,  who  was 
the  money-lender  and  banker  of  the  community. 
There  was  no  doubt  of  his  ability  to  furnish  all 
the  money  requisite,  and  Mr.  Peachy,  after  sug 
gesting  this,  offered  to  call  upon  him  and  obtain 
the  requisite  loan.  The  President  hesitated  and 
said,  '  Yes,  I  have  a  note  from  him  already, 
offering  me  all  the  money  I  need.  But,"  he 
added,  after  an  embarrassed  pause,  pushing  the 
note  to  Mr.  Peachy,  "  I  would  rather  not  take  it 


1 6  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

from  him  if  I  can  arrange  it  otherwise,  for,  to  be 
frank  with  you,  Peachy,  some  months  ago,  when 
I  needed  money  badly,  I  tried  to  borrow  it  from 
him  and  he  refused  me  peremptorily.  I  could 
not  offer  the  security  then  which  I  can  now.  Of 
course  he  had  a  right  to  refuse  me,  but  it  mortified 
me  nevertheless;  and,  now,  I  would  rather  not 
place  myself  under  obligations  to  him  when  the 
reason  of  the  change  in  his  attitude  is  so  plain." 

It  is  needless  to  add  that  the  money  was  forth 
coming  from  other  sources. 

Mr.  Clay  never  accepted  the  conditions  arising 
from  General  Harrison's  death.  He  preferred  to 
assume  that  Tyler  belonged  to  the  Whig  party, 
with  all  the  obligations  of  General  Harrison 
resting  upon  him.  As  the  Whig  party  really 
belonged  to  Henry  Clay,  Tyler  was,  that  being 
true,  as  much  an  asset  for  administration  as  the 
good  old  Indian  fighter  Harrison  would  have 
been  if  he  had  lived.  So  Clay  proceeded  to 
formulate  the  Whig  measures  which  Harrison 
would  have  approved,  and  when  Tyler  refused 
to  approve  them  Clay  denounced  him  as  having 
betrayed  Whig  principles;  and  all  the  other  Whigs, 
great  and  small,  throughout  the  land  joined  in  the 
chorus,  until  the  world  for  a  time  believed  that 
John  Tyler  was  lineal  descendant  and  administra 
tor  de  bonis  non  of  Judas  Iscariot,  deceased. 

Clay  was  a  royal  old  bully  and  drove  the  steel 
home  into  Tyler  with  all  his  might  and  main, 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  17 

and  John  Minor  Botts,  a  Whig  congressman  from 
the  Richmond  district  in  Virginia,  proclaimed 
that  he  would  "Head  Captain  Tyler  or  die,"  and 
Mr.  Sergeant  glowered  upon  him  as  upon  an 
apostate.  But  they  never  did  head  Captain 
Tyler,  and  they  never  shook  him  in  his  resolution. 
They  accused  him  of  trying  to  "Tylerise"  the 
Whig  party.  But  they  never  succeeded  in  "  Whig- 
izing"  the  party  named  Tyler.  The  result  of 
the  great  "  Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too"  combination 
was  that  it  met  the  ordinary  fate  of  incongruous 
coalitions,  and  its  members  fought  each  other; 
but  when  the  breach  came  the  element  which, 
according  to  the  usual  course,  naturally  becomes 
the  servient  element  became,  by  an  accident,  the 
dominant  element. 

How  can  any  man  be  a  traitor  to  principles 
he  never  espoused?  Tyler  never  was  a  Whig. 
He  never  pretended  to  be  anything  but  a  Demo 
crat.  He  was  not  nominated  as  a  Whig  but  as 
an  Anti-Spoils  Democrat,  in  coalition  with  Whigs 
and  other  disaffected  Democrats,  the  object 
being  to  attract  still  other  Democrats  to  the 
coalition  in  numbers  sufficient  to  defeat  the 
organization  Democrats,  who  advocated  the  doc 
trine  "To  the  Victors  belong  the  Spoils." 

The  only  principle  of  Whiggery  which  Tyler 
espoused  when  he  accepted  the  coalition  nomina 
tion  was  that  for  which  the  coalition  was  formed, 
and  by  which  alone  it  was  practicable,  to  wit: 


i8  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

the  breaking  down  of  the  spoils  system  of  Democ 
racy,  inaugurated  by  Jackson  and  in  full  force 
under  Van  Buren. 

It  was  demanding  too  much  of  Tyler  to  insist 
that,  upon  other  questions  about  which  he  had 
never  agreed  with  Whig  doctrine,  he  should 
abandon  the  convictions  of  a  lifetime  and  approve 
measures  merely  because  General  Harrison,  if  he 
had  lived,  would  have  registered  the  dictates  of 
the  Whig  autocrat  Clay. 

So  Tyler  and  his  party,  if  such  it  may  be  called, 
were  soon  together  by  the  ears,  in  one  of  the  most 
virulent  political  contests  of  the  century.  And 
he  had  very  few  friends  left  in  or  out  of  Congress. 
The  Democrats  rejoiced  at  his  dilemma,  because 
they  looked  upon  him  as  a  deserter  from  them; 
and  the  Whigs,  frantic  at  his  obstinacy,  pretended 
to  regard  him  as  a  traitor.  His  friends  in  Congress 
were  so  few  that  they  were  called  the  "  Corporal's 
Guard,"  and  at  the  head  of  them  was  my  father. 
His  championship  of  Mr.  Tyler  was  in  my  opinion, 
from  a  political  standpoint,  the  most  disastrous 
step  of  his  political  life  and  the  costliest  to  him; 
but  it  was  infinitely  to  the  credit  of  his  heart  and 
in  keeping  with  his  innate  chivalric  repugnance 
to  wrong  and  outrage.  In  all  his  antecedents 
he  had  been  a  Whig.  He  had  opposed  the 
Democratic  doctrine  of  nullification  and  voted  for 
Andrew  Jackson.  His  championship  of  Tyler 
ultimately  led  him  into  affiliation  with  the  Democ- 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  19 

racy.  I  believe  that,  but  for  his  championship  of 
Tyler  and  the  course  into  which  that  led  him,  he 
would  have  remained  for  life  a  Union  man  and 
that  he  might  have  attained  to  any  office  in  the 
gift  of  the  people.  But  he  loved  Tyler  and 
Tyler  loved  him.  They  were  fellow  Virginians. 
He  knew  just  what  circumstances  had  led  to 
Tyler's  nomination,  and  just  what  pledges  Tyler 
had  and  had  not  given.  He  deplored,  as  much 
as  anybody,  the  death  of  General  Harrison,  but 
he  denied  that  it  imposed  upon  Tyler  any  obliga 
tion  to  stultify  himself  in  order  to  avoid  Henry 
Clay's  anger.  Moreover,  Mr.  Clay  had,  as  my 
father  believed,  done  him  a  grievous  wrong  in 
trying  to  shift  to  him  responsibility  for  the  Graves- 
Cilley  duel,  and  he  thought  the  wrong  Clay  was 
now  seeking  to  inflict  upon  Tyler  was  character 
istic  of  Mr.  Clay's  unfair  nature.  This  intensified 
his  championship  of  his  lovable  and  much- traduced 
neighbour  and  friend.  Mr.  Tyler,  although  a 
man  of  more  than  mediocre  abilities,  was  not, 
in  my '  opinion,  as  great  a  man  as  my  father 
always  thought  him ;  but  he  was  a  good  man  and  a 
grateful  man.  He  remembered  my  father's  un 
selfish  friendship,  loved  him  tenderly  to  the 
day  of  his  death,  and  admired  him  extravagantly. 
He  spoke  of  him  always  as  a  gallant,  impetuous 
boy.  When  I  saw  them  meet,  one  nearly  seventy 
and  the  other  over  fifty,  it  was  like  a  meeting 
between  a  loving  father  and  son.  And  well  might 


20  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

Mr.  Tyler  esteem  him  highly,  for  he  had  cham 
pioned  his  cause  without  once  counting  the  cost. 
One  day  in  the  House  of  Representatives  my 
grave  old  grandfather,  on  the  line  pressed  by 
Clay  in  the  Senate,  attacked  Mr.  Tyler.  The 
debate  was  proceeding  under  the  five  minutes' 
rule.  His  points  were  strong  and  trenchant. 
Up  to  that  time  the  relations  between  my  father 
and  grandfather  had  been  as  cordial  as  possible. 
While  the  latter  was  a  man  of  deep  affection,  he 
was  a  dignified,  reserved  man,  and  exacted  the 
utmost  courtesy  and  respect  from  everybody, 
particularly  from  members  of  his  own  family. 
Anything  like  discourtesy  or  a  lack  of  deference 
offended  him  deeply,  and,  once  offended,  he  was 
slow  to  forgive  or  forget. 

He  was  a  trenchant  debater,  and  what  he 
said  was  caustic  and  telling.  In  his  dispassion 
ate  way  he  spoke  beyond  the  time  limit  of  debate. 
My  father,  who  in  a  fight  neither  asked  nor 
showed  quarter,  was  managing  the  Tyler  side 
of  the  debate,  and  raised  the  point  of  order  upon 
my  grandfather.  When  the  point  was  raised, 
my  grandfather  turned  to  the  direction  whence 
it  came,  saw  who  made  it,  and  took  his  seat 
without  another  word.  He  never  referred  to  the 
episode  but  once,  and  that  was  five  years  after 
ward.  We  shall  see  how.  Soon  after  this  a 
vacancy  occurring  in  the  Supreme  Court, 
Mr.  Tyler,  through  my  father,  tendered  the 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  21 

appointment  to  Mr.  Sergeant,  but  he  declined  it 
and  suggested  Mr.  Binney.  Mr.  Binney  declined 
it  and  suggested  Mr.  Sergeant.  The  bitter  and 
protracted  conflict  between  Mr.  Tyler  and  Con 
gress  nearly  destroyed  my  father's  health.  His 
physicians  demanded  that,  upon  peril  of  his 
life,  he  should  not  continue,  but  take  a  rest 
from  active  politics  and  seek  a  Southern  climate. 
Mr.  Tyler,  who  was  devoted  to  "Wise,"  as 
he  always  affectionately  called  him,  nominated 
him  to  be  Minister  to  France.  The  Senate,  in 
this  as  in  nearly  everything  else  recommended 
by  Mr.  Tyler,  refused  to  concur.  Then  Mr. 
Tyler  gave  him  the  choice  between  Portugal  and 
Brazil.  He  selected  Brazil,  and  the  Senate, 
while  unwilling  to  give  him  so  rich  a  plum  as 
France,  was  glad  enough  to  be  rid  of  him  in  the 
House  by  confirming  his  appointment  to  the 
Brazilian  mission.  He  went  there  and  spent 
three  years  fighting  the  odious  African  slave  trade, 
regained  his  health  and,  after  Polk's  election,  was 
recalled  at  his  own  request.  While  Mr.  Tyler 
was  President,  being  a  widower,  he  married  a 
beautiful  young  creature,  Julia  Gardiner.  She 
was  daughter  of  a  New  York  gentleman  who 
lost  his  life  in  the  lamentable  explosion  which 
occurred  on  the  Princeton  frigate.  The  Pres 
ident  and  a  number  of  his  guests  were  aboard 
to  witness  the  test  of  a  new  gun  called  the 
"Peacemaker."  The  gun  burst,  killing  Secretary 


22  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

Upshur,  Secretary  Gilmer,  Mr.  Gardiner  and 
several  others.  The  marriage  was  a  very  happy 
one.  Mrs.  Tyler  was  still  a  young  and  beautiful 
woman  when  I  first  remember  her.  Her  life 
with  Mr.  Tyler  was  a  perpetual  love  affair,  and  she 
bore  him  a  number  of  children.  She  was  a 
charming  woman  and  an  excellent  politician. 
She  survived  him  many  years,  and  when,  long 
after  the  war,  the  proposition  to  pension  Mrs. 
Garfield  came  up,  she  had  the  sense  and  influence 
to  insist  that  the  bill  should  be  made  to  include 
herself  as  the  widow  of  President  Tyler,  as  well  as 
Mrs.  Garfield.  So  that  she  had  in  her  old  age, 
thanks  be  to  God  and  her  own  ability,  a  comfort 
able  provision. 

My  father  and  Mr.  Tyler  had  many  jokes  together 
over  the  latter's  marriage,  one  of  which  never 
failed  to  make  Mr.  Tyler  roar  and  turn  red  in  the 
face  and  wipe  his  eyes  with  his  handkerchief, 
with  protestations  that  "Wise"  had  told  it  until 
he  believed  it.  It  was  this.  Mr.  Tyler  had  lived 
a  cheerless,  solitary  life  in  the  White  House  until 
his  love  affair  with  Miss  Gardiner.  One  day, 
shortly  before  my  father's  departure  for  Brazil, 
the  President  invited  him  to  drive  with  him,  and 
after  a  good  deal  of  circumlocution  confessed  that 
he  had  won  the  affections  of  Miss  Julia  Gardiner  and 
expected  to  marry  her.  He  sought  my  father's 
opinion,  for  it  was  too  late  for  advice.  Having 
heard  his  story,  told  with  all  the  ludicrousness  of 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  23 

the  proverbial  "old  fool  the  biggest  fool  in  the 
world,"  my  father  told  him  the  following  story, 
of  which  Mr.  John  Y.  Mason  was  the  sponsor. 

An  old  gentleman  in  south-side  Virginia  called 
his  house  servant  Toney  into  conference  about  his 
proposed  marriage  to  a  young  girl.  "  She's  too 
young  for  you,  Marster,"  was  his  blunt  reply. 
"Nonsense,"  said  the  master  indignantly;  "I'm 
not  too  old  for  any  young  girl,  Toney,  I'm  in  my 
prime."  "Yes,  sir,"  responded  Toney,  "I  knows 
you  is  in  yo'  prime.  But  dat  aint  de  question. 
When  she  is  in  her  prime,  whar  will  yd  prime  be?" 

This  suggestive  anecdote  did  not  deter  Mr. 
Tyler.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Gardiner  soon 
afterward.  A  kind  Providence  spared  him  and 
his  beautiful  young  wife  to  each  other  for  seventeen 
years  of  singularly  happy  married  life,  something 
over  half  of  which  had  gone  by  when  I  first  saw 
them.  He  was  then  very  proud  of  her,  and  they 
were  as  devoted  to  each  other  as  young  lovers. 

Mr.  Peachy  greatly  enjoyed  describing  a  visit 
which  he  once  made  to  Mr.  Tyler  in  the  White 
House  before  his  marriage  when  the  battle  with 
the  Senate  was  fiercest.  The  animosity  of  Con 
gress  against  Tyler  was  so  intense  that  it  even 
descended  to  the  meanness  of  refusing  to  vote 
appropriations  for  repairs  or  furnishings  for  the 
White  House,  and  the  place  was  actually  shabby. 

Mr.  Tyler  was  the  last  man  on  earth  to  feel  any 
resentment  at  this.  In  his  simple  life  it  made 


24  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

no  difference  to  him  whether  the  place  was  gilded 
or  tarnished.  He  cared  nothing  for  display,  and, 
while  he  waged  his  war  with  undismayed  courage 
against  overwhelming  odds,  it  left  little  trace  upon 
the  sweetness  of  his  disposition.  Mr.  Peachy  sent 
up  his  card  one  morning,  fearing  he  might  disturb 
the  President  in  his  busy  work.  A  messenger 
promptly  returned  and  ushered  him  without 
ceremony  into  the  presence  of  the  President.  He 
found  him  immersed  in  a  great  mass  of  papers 
and  documents,  with  clerks  and  scriveners  and 
what  not,  preparing  answers  to  unfriendly  Con 
gressional  inquiries.  Mr.  Tyler,  as  soon  as  he 
saw  him  enter,  dropped  his  work,  advanced  toward 
him  with  a  bright  welcome,  and  extended  both 
hands.  Seeing  how  busy  he  was,  Mr.  Peachy 
insisted  that  he  had  merely  called  to  pay  his 
respects,  and  would  withdraw.  "  No,  no,  no,'1 
remonstrated  the  President.  "The  face  of  a 
friend  from  home  is  a  sight  for  sore  eyes,  Peachy. 
I  will  not  let  you  go."  So  they  had  a  few  words 
together.  But  Peachy,  who  was  himself  a  busy 
Chancery  practitioner,  knew  what  interruptions 
like  this  meant,  and  at  last  succeeded  in  retiring, 
under  solemn  promise  to  return  and  dine  with 
Mr.  Tyler. 

At  the  hour  appointed  he  was  ushered  un 
ceremoniously  into  the  same  room  and  found  the 
President  still  up  to  his  eyes  in  work.  "  Sit 
down,  sit  down,"  said  he  cheerily.  "All  will  soon 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  25 

be  through."  It  was  perhaps  half  an  hour  before 
the  President,  in  his  characteristic  kindly  way, 
dismissed  his  assistants,  and  turning  to  Peachy 
with  the  air  of  a  boy  let  out  from  school  exclaimed, 
"  Now,  Peachy,  work  is  done  and  we'll  have  a 
good  time  together  for  the  remainder  of  the  day." 

Truth  is  Mr.  Tyler  cared  nothing  himself  for 
eating  and  drinking.  Politics  he  loved,  and  in 
them  he  found  his  meat  and  drink.  His  food  was 
the  merest  unimportant  incident  in  existence,  and 
anything  which  allayed  hunger  and  supplied 
sustenance  satisfied  him.  This  was  so  well  known 
to  his  servants  that  they  made  little  provision 
for  him  when  he  was  alone. 

So  engrossed  had  he  been  that  day  that,  after 
Peachy 's  morning  visit,  he  went  straight  back  to 
work  and  forgot  all  about  dinner  until  his  guest 
reappeared.  The  President  summoned  his  butler 
to  inquire  about  dinner.  That  faithful  servitor, 
who  had  accompanied  him  from  his  home,  prompt 
ly  appeared,  bowing  deferentially.  "Well,  Caesar," 
said  the  President,  "  we  are  ready  for  dinner  now. 
You  may  serve  it  as  soon  as  you  are  ready.  Mr. 
Peachy  is  to  dine  with  us.  I  hope  you  have 
something  nice." 

The  butler  stood  aghast.  After  much  hesita 
tion  he  said:  "I  is  very  sorry  to  tell  you,  Mr. 
President,  but  dar  ain't  nuthin'  in  Gawd's  woiT 
to  eat  fur  dinner,  but  dat  ole  ham  bone  you  bin 
peckin'  on  fur  a  week,  an'  some  turnip  salad  I 


26  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

picked  up  in  market  a  thinkin'  to  tempt  you 
wid  it  to-day.  You  never  tole  me  nuthin'  about 
company  comin',  an'  I  has  so  often  fixed  up  nice 
vittles  fur  you  an'  seen  you  leave  'em  on  touched 
on  de  table,  or  not  come  to  eat  'em  at  all,  dat 
I  has  kinder  give  up  try  in' ,  and  now  you  has 
caught  me  nappin'  sure  'nuff." 

For  a  moment  the  President  appeared  sadly 
mortified  and  embarrassed.  But  Peachy  knew 
him  so  well,  and  the  situation  was  so  characteristic, 
that  he  enjoyed  his  discomfiture;  and  the  President 
himself,  who  had  a  keen  sense  of  the  ludicrous, 
joined  in  the  laughter  at  his  own  expense,  and  led 
him  to  the  dining  room  to  make  the  best  of  their 
poverty-stricken  repast.  'Thank  Heaven  it  was 
you,"  said  Tyler,  as  he  saw  the  scant  fare.  "It 
might  have  been  somebody  else,  and  then  it  would 
have  been  worse." 

During  the  meal  of  ham  and  turnip  greens  a 
happy  thought  occurred  to  the  President.  "I'll 
tell  you  what  I'll  do,  Peachy,  to  atone  for  this 
wretched  entertainment,"  said  he.  "We  will 
send  for  the  keys  of  the  White  House  cellars,  and 
you  shall  go  there  yourself  and  take  your  choice." 
It  was  no  sooner  said  than  done.  Peachy  knew 
good  wine  and  loved  it  dearly.  Accompanied  by 
the  butler  the  two  were  soon  rummaging  the  dust- 
covered  bottles  in  the  Presidential  cellars,  and, 
according  to  Mr.  Peachy 's  account,  he  never 
had  such  a  frolic  in  his  life.  Smacking  his  lips, 


THIRTEEN  PRESIDENTS  27 

with  the  memory  of  that  afternoon's  entertain 
ment  fresh  in  his  mind,  he  declared  that  it  was 
the  only  time  in  his  life  when  he  had  more  good 
liquor  than  he  could  drink  and  not  as  many  people 
as  he  wanted  to  divide  with  him.  Mr.  Tyler  was 
very  abstemious,  cared  no  more  for  wine  than 
for  water,  and  only  took  enough  to  keep  him  in 
countenance. 

I  am  not  sure,  but  I  have  the  impression  that  on 
the  steamboat,  on  the  occasion  described  in  the 
opening  of  this  chapter,  I  heard  the  ex-President 
and  my  father  making  merry  over  the  way  in 
which  the  former  had  turned  the  tables  upon 
some  people  in  Charles  City  County.  At  any  rate 
I  heard  them  discuss  the  matter  on  several  oc 
casions. 

After  his  retirement  from  the  Presidency  Mr. 
Tyler  resided  at  a  place  called  "  Sherwood  Forest " 
in  Charles  City  County.  It  was  a  county  in 
which  the  roads  were  notoriously  bad.  One 
day  the  ex- President  received  an  appointment  as 
"  Overseer  of  the  Roads."  It  was  said  that  it 
was  made  to  humiliate  him,  and  to  express  the 
opinion  of  the  Whig  source  from  which  it  came, 
that  it  was  better  fitted  to  his  talents  and  capacities 
than  the  position  from  which  he  had  retired. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  Mr.  Tyler  did  not  take  offence. 
On  the  contrary,  he  accepted  the  place,  and 
instead  of  neglecting  his  duties,  or  performing 
them  in  a  perfunctory  way  as  his  predecessor 


28  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

had  done,  he  went  sturdily  to  work,  invoked  all 
the  powers  of  compulsion  which  the  road  laws  gave 
him,  and  before  he  was  done  with  the  work  made 
whoever  was  responsible  for  his  appointment 
heartily  sick  of  the  opportunity  given  him.  He 
did  his  work  so  well  that  the  roads  in  his  district, 
from  having  been  the  worst  became  the  very 
best  in  the  county,  and  were  the  models  upon 
which  others  were  thereafter  constructed. 

In  the  remaining  years  of  his  life,  spent  in 
Charles  City,  the  ex-President  by  his  blameless 
life  so  endeared  himself  to  all  the  people  as 
neighbour,  friend  and  citizen  that  he  had  no 
enemies  when  he  died.  But  traces  of  the  bitter 
controversy  between  Mr.  Tyler  and  the  Whig 
party  lingered  many  years. 

When  my  father  returned  from  Brazil,  in  the 
summer  of  1847,  MT-  Tyler  had  been  in  retirement 
for  over  two  years  and  my  grandfather  had 
declined  further  re-election  to  Congress.  During 
all  my  father's  residence  abroad  Mr.  Sergeant 
drew  his  salary  for  him,  honoured  his  drafts,  and 
generally  managed  his  financial  matters.  On 
their  return  my  father  and  mother,  with  their 
three  children,  two  of  whom  had  been  born  while 
they  were  in  Brazil,  naturally  visited  Mr.  Sergeant 
at  his  home  in  Philadelphia.  The  old  house  still 
stands  in  South  Fourth  Street.  In  those  days 
it  was  a  grand  structure.  Mr.  Sergeant  built  it 
from  the  current  income  from  his  practice.  It 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  29 

has  a  large  frontage  and  consists  of  a  four-storied 
house,  with  offices  adjoining,  facing  on  the  street. 
The  offices  communicate  with  the  house  by  a 
single  door,  and  both  buildings  open  upon  a  large 
yard,  with  stables  and  carriage  houses  in  the 
rear.  Here  he  lived  luxuriously  and  practiced 
law  for  many  years,  but  the  offices  were  an  un 
known  territory  to  his  family  and  grandchildren 
except  upon  special  occasions.  Mr.  Sergeant 
was  an  early  riser,  and  long  before  breakfast  time 
was  in  his  office  reading  the  morning  papers  or 
engaged  in  work.  When  the  family  assembled 
in  the  large  breakfast  room  he  would  appear 
through  the  doorway  leading  to  it  from  the 
offices,  and  the  entire  family  greeted  him  with  the 
utmost  deference  and  love,  amounting  almost 
to  fear. 

One  morning  at  breakfast  he  informed  my 
father  that  after  the  meal  was  over  he  would 
be  glad  to  see  him  in  the  office  upon  a  matter  of 
business.  Upon  arriving  there  the  complete  ac 
counts  covering  the  years  of  my  father's  absence 
in  Brazil  were  laid  before  him.  They  were  drawn 
up  in  perfect  form,  bound  with  the  red  tape  then 
in  vogue,  accompanied  by  vouchers  for  the  mi 
nutest  detail  and  a  check  for  the  balance.  An 
obsequious  old  law  clerk  was  at  hand  to  explain 
every  item.  While  Mr.  Wise  examined  them, 
Mr.  Sergeant  stood  with  his  back  to  the  fire 
placidly  awaiting  the  result.  Seeing  that  the 


30  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

accounts  were  perfect,  my  father  thanked  him 
cordially  for  all  his  attention  to  his  affairs  and, 
the  business  being  finished,  ventured  upon  other 
conversation  by  suggesting,  "  Well,  Mr.  Sergeant, 
what  of  politics?  You  do  not  seem  to  be  as 
much  interested  in  them  as  formerly."  "  No, 
sir,"  said  Mr.  Sergeant,  dryly,  "I  have  retired 
from  politics  altogether.  When  you  demonstrated 
before  the  world  that  I  could  not  govern  my  own 
family,  I  thought  it  time  to  stop  trying  to  govern 
the  country." 

Until  then  my  father  had  never  known  how 
deeply  he  had  wounded  Mr.  Sergeant  when  he 
raised  the  point  of  order  on  him  on  the  floor  of 
the  House.  He  did  all  he  could  to  atone  for  it, 
for  he  greatly  admired  and  respected  Mr.  Sergeant, 
but  the  latter  never  forgot  it  or  altogether  forgave 
it.  This  is  why  I  say  the  bitterness  of  the  Tyler 
conflicts  lasted  long  after  they  were  over. 

Away  back  in  this  chapter  I  began  to  describe 
the  appearance  of  Mr.  Tyler  when  I  first  saw  him 
some  years  after  all  the  happenings  into  a  descrip 
tion  of  which  my  rambling  pen  has  led  me. 

That  day  when  he  came  upon  the  steamer  he 
was  the  merriest  and  kindliest  and  happiest  of  old 
gentlemen.  "Wise,  Wise,"  said  he,  as  he  caught 
sight  of  my  father's  sunburned  face  and  the 
various  evidences  that  he  had  been  out  upon  a 
fishing  frolic,  "will  you  never  cease  to  be  a 
boy?"  And  then  he  called  me  to  him  and  took 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  31 

me  on  his  knee  and  asked  me  many  questions 
about  what  we  saw  and  what  we  did,  with  as 
much  interest  *as  if  he  had  been  a  boy  himself. 
Then  he  and  my  father  fell  to  talking  of  old  times. 
One  thing  Mr.  Tyler  said  impressed  me  deeply. 
They  were  talking  together  of  old  times  and 
scenes  in  Washington.  Of  Clay  and  Webster  and 
Calhoun  and  Benton.  At  last,  gazing  long  and 
tenderly  out  of  the  steamboat  windows  and 
across  the  tawny  waters  of  the  James,  he  said: 

"  Yes,  yes,  the  lions  of  the  '40'$  are  fast  falling 
asleep.  Few  of  them  are  left,  Wise,  and  I  am 
trying  to  fit  myself  to  meet  my  summons  when 
it  comes.  You  are  still  young.  But  I  am  fast 
approaching  man's  allotted  span  of  three  score 
and  ten."  Then  they  changed  the  theme  and 
grew  merry  again,  and  Mr.  Tyler  was  almost 
boyish  in  his  urgency  that  my  father  should  leave 
the  boat  with  him  at  his  wharf  and  spend  a  few 
days  of  recreation  in  the  company  of  himself  and 
wife  at  Sherwood  Forest. 

I  remember  very  vividly  seeing  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Tyler  after  that  in  Richmond  on  numerous 
occasions  when  they  were  my  father's  guests, 
between  1856  and  1860. 

Mr.  Tyler  was  ever  a  most  gentle,  lovable  and 
loyal  old  friend.  In  all  discussions  about  the 
exciting  issues  of  the  day  in  politics  he  refused  to 
admit  or  to  consider  that  such  a  thing  as  the 
dissolution  of  the  Union  was  possible.  There 


32  THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS 

is  infinite  pathos  in  his  prayer  made  in  an  address 
which  he  delivered  in  Baltimore  shortly  before 
the  outbreak  of  war,  that  he  might  live  and  die 
in  the  faith  that  the  Union  would  be  preserved. 
To  the  last  he  struggled  against  its  disruption.  I 
ean  now  almost  see  the  old  man  and  hear  his 
trembling  voice  pleading  against  the  madness 
of  the  hour.  As  late  as  February  of  1861  he 
presided  over  the  Peace  Convention  at  Washing 
ton,  which  was  largely  the  offspring  of  his  en 
deavours  and  he  never  cast  his  lot  with  his  State 
until  all  hope  of  union  seemed  dead.  He  did 
what  every  other  Virginian  did  wrho  had  been 
reared  to  love  his  old  State  better  than  the  younger 
Union,  which  she  had  helped  to  form,  and  history 
will  justify  them.  But  the  conflict  broke  his 
heart  and  he  died  within  a  year.  He  was  merci 
fully  spared  the  sight  of  the  degradation  which 
awaited  Virginia. 

I  am  glad  that  I  knew  Mr.  Tyler.  He  may  not 
have  been  as  great  a  man  as  some  of  his  prede 
cessors  or  successors,  but  he  wras  as  good  a  man 
as  ever  lived.  He  was  a  consummate  politician; 
a  man  of  unbending  resolution;  he  had  a  tender 
loving  heart;  he  was  a  loyal  friend;  a  useful 
patriotic  citizen ;  and  a  neighbour  whose  unfailing 
sympathy  and  soft  answer  could  turn  away 
the  wrath  of  the  most  malignant  of  his  foes. 


FRANKLIN   PIERCE 


II.-FRANKLIN  PIERCE. 

MY  FATHER  was  perhaps  as  instrumental  as 
any  other  one  man  in  securing  the  nomination 
of  Mr.  Pierce. 

It  is  odd  that  a  friend  in  Boston  should  have 
sent  me,  since  I  began  these  sketches,  and  without 
any  solicitation  on  my  part  or  even  knowledge 
that  he  possessed  them,  copies  of  the  following 
letters  which  tell  the  story  better  than  I  can. 
Colonel  George,  to  whom  the  second  letter  is 
addressed,  was  the  law  partner  of  General  Pierce. 
The  student  of  those  times  may  judge  of  the 
influence  they  had  on  Mr.  Pierce  by  seeing  the 
actual  constitution  of  his  cabinet.  "Only"  was 
my  father's  home — named  after  Richard  Only,  a 
former  owner. 

"  ONLY,"  near  ONANCOCK,  Accomac  County,  Va., 

"June  22nd,   1852. 

"  My  Dear  Sir:  Yours  of  the  i4th  inst.  found 
me  at  our  Court  House  yesterday,  fagged  out 
almost  with  the  trial  of  a  laborious  will  case. 
It  refreshed  me  as  would  the  laving  from  a  cool 
spring,  and  the  best  recompense  I  can  return  to 
the  good  heart  which  dictated  that  letter  is  the 
acknowledgment  of  that  feeling.  The  man  who 
has  any  heart  cannot  'court  the  court'  of  public 

35 


36  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

preferment  and  enjoy  even  its  highest  honours. 
There  is  the  bitterness  of  ashes  in  them.  I  can 
well  then  trust  you  when  you  profess  to  feel  pain 
and  anxiety  as  well  as  surprise  at  your  nomina 
tion.  It  gave  to  me  for  one  and  to  the  large 
majority  of  the  Virginia  delegation  great  pleasure 
to  tender  it  to  you.  We  were  first  for  Mr.  Bu 
chanan  and  complimented  him  with  33  ballots 
continuously.  Penna.,  Virginia,  N.  Carolina,  Geor 
gia,  Alabama  and  Missi.  had  voted  steadily 
together.  Portions  of  the  Virginia  and  No.  Caro- 
ina  delegations  became  restive  against  persisting 
longer  for  one  man.  Penna.  invited  Virginia  to 
a  conference.  Virginia  extended  the  invitation 
to  N.  Carolina,  Georgia,  Ala.  and  Missi.  On 
Friday  night  the  committee  from  these  six  states 
met  in  conference.  We  were  still  for  Buchanan. 
Mason,  Harris,  Martin  and  Floyd  (the  latter, 
however,  left  before  we  came  to  conclusions,  he 
being  for  Douglas)  and  myself  as  chairman  of  the 
Virginia  Committee  happened  to  be  members  of 
the  conference  and  all  (except  Floyd)  to  concur. 
We  found  no  difference  of  opinion  from  us  among 
the  members  of  the  committee  of  the  other  five 
states.  We  were  confident  we  could  nominate 
Mr.  Buchanan  if  these  six  states  would  persist 
in  voting  for  him,  but  were  obliged  to  admit  to 
ourselves  that  Virginia  and  No.  Carolina  would 
decide  to  take  another  name  or  other  names  up 
before  another  rally  could  be  made  on  that  of 
Mr.  Buchanan.  We  saw  that  the  names  of 
other  gentlemen,  not  prominent  then  for  the 
nomination,  withheld  votes  from  Mr.  Buchanan, 
and  to  get  the  nomination  for  him  or  to  nominate 
one  of  those  gentlemen  we  would  have  to  give 


FRANKLIN  PIERCE 

The  fourteenth  president  of  the  United  States  (1853-57). 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  37 

each  of  them  in  turn  a  chance  for  the  nomination. 
For  whom  could  we  go  in  good  faith,  with  the 
chance  of  nominating  him  over  our  preference? 
We  settled  unanimously  upon  Marcy,  Pierce  and 
Butler.  Each  of  them  in  turn  should  have  a  fair 
chance  given  him  for  the  prize;  if  either  should 
be  nominated  he  was  our  choice,  and  if  neither 
could  be  we  were  to  re-rally  on  Mr.  Buchanan  and 
succeed  by  the  aid  of  the  friends  of  these  three 
gentlemen  named. 

"  Virginia  was  to  put  each  in  turn  in  nomination. 
Penna.,  Georgia  and  Ala.  were  to  be  the  reserve 
corps  for  Mr.  Buchanan  unless  their  votes  were 
required  to  make  and  could  make  a  nomination 
of  either  Marcy,  Pierce  or  Butler.  The  other 
two  states,  N.  C.  and  Missi.,  were  to  vote  with 
Virginia  after  the  first  and  second  ballots.  And 
we  concurred  in  reporting  to  our  delegations 
simply  that  we  had  agreed  to  withdraw  from 
Mr.  Buchanan  for  the  present  and  to  rally  on  him 
again  only  when  we  saw  that  we  could  nominate 
him.  This  was  our  plan,  and  the  question  was 
which  of  the  three  should  Virginia  first  name. 
The  Virginia  delegation  decided  first  to  pay  a 
complimentary  vote  only  to  Dickinson,  and  Gen'l 
Butler's  friends,  supposing  that  your  name  and 
Marcy's  would  both  fail,  preferred  that  his  name 
should  be  brought  forward  by  Virginia  last  of  the 
three.  Marcy  was  rather  obnoxious  to  Dickinson's 
admirers  in  our  delegation.  Harris  of  Page  read 
your  letter  to  Major  Lally  to  our  delegation,  I 
endorsed  his  recommendation  and  you  carried 
twelve  out  of  fifteen  districts,  obtaining  the 
whole  vote  of  the  State  and  the  unanimous  vote 
of  my  district.  Thus  your  name  was  carried 


38  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

before  the  Convention  by  Virginia  on  the  35th 
ballot.  For  seven  or  nine  ballots  you  stood  at 
29  only.  At  this  time  I  thought  your  name  had 
failed  and  good  faith  required  a  trial  of  Marcy's 
or  Butler's  name.  But  the  Perma.  delegation 
preferred  you  to  Marcy  and  requested  me  to  hold 
on  to  you  for  a  few  ballots  more.  This  I  consented 
to  and  assisted  in  bringing  up  a  part  of  the  reserve 
of  Mr.  Buchanan,  Ga.  and  Ala.  This  gave  the 
impetus.  The  moment  came  for  Penna.  to  decide 
the  struggle  and  I  gave  her  the  sign,  as  I  was  to  do, 
when  Virginia  called  on  her  for  her  vote  for  the 
man  of  the  Granite  Democracy.  She  came  faith 
fully  up  into  line  and  there  was  then  a  rush  not  to 
be  hindmost.  Thus  you  received  the  nomination. 
The  Wednesday  before,  early  in  the  morning, 
your  friend  French  (quondam  Clerk  H.  Reps) 
and  my  friend  Gushing  called  on  me  to  present 
your  name  for  my  consideration.  It  was  singular 
that  I  had  supported  the  lamented  Polk  when  I 
had  not  spoken  to  him  for  many  years,  in  1844. 
Now  I  might  be  called  on  to  support  you  who 
had  not  exchanged  a  smile  nor  a  friendly  greeting 
with  me  from  1839,  owing  to  an  event  no  less 
deplored  by  me  than  by  yourself,  not  on  account 
of  consequences  to  me  but  to  others.  I  had  my 
own  self  approval,  that  was  enough.  You  knew 
not  my  justification,  my  part  was  wholly  distorted 
to  your  vision.  You  were  a  friend  to  the  un 
fortunate  enemy  of  my  friend.  I  could  well 
imagine  why  you  could  not  take  my  hand  until 
'time  should  clear  up  the  cloud  that  then  hung 
heavy  over  the  heaven  of  our  hearts.'  I  had 
never  felt  unkindncss  to  you,  had  not  cherished 
it  if  felt,  and  had  it  been  felt  and  cherished  it 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  39 

should  not  have  been  allowed  to  interpose  in  the 
discharge  of  my  public  duty.  I  so  said  to  French. 
He  and  Gushing  (who  is  the  most  sensible  New 
England  man  I  know)  Atherton  of  your  own 
State,  Clifford  of  Maine,  Thompson  of  Missi., 
Harris  of  Virginia  and  myself  were,  perhaps,  the 
most  efficient  authors  of  your  nomination.  I 
take  no  other  credit,  however,  than  that  of 
acting  upon  principle,  without  guile  or  selfishness, 
and  forgetting  every  evil  passion  of  the  past, 
I  shall  support  your  nomination,  Sir,  con  amore. 
Your  letter  convinces  me  that  you  have  an 
understanding  of  the  heart  as  well  as  of  the 
head  which  has  spoken  kindly  to  my  heart  and  it 
responds  warmly.  That  is  enough.  If  you  are 
elected  all  that  I  shall  ever  ask  of  you  will  be 
for  our  Country  not  for  myself. 

"Yours  truly,        HENRY  A.  WISE. 
"HON.  F.  PIERCE,  Concord,  N.  H. 

"ONLY,  near  ONANCOCK,  Va.,  Dec.  nth,  1852. 

"  Dear  Sir:  I  have  been  off  to  Richmond  and 
Phila.  and,  on  my  return,  found  yours  of  the 
5th  on  my  table.  Your  letter  gives  me  much 
uneasiness.  I  was  mainly  instrumental  in  having 
Mr.  Pierce  nominated  and  I  had  great  confidence 
in  his  administrative  qualities,  but  I  tell  you 
flatly  that  if  he  makes  such  a  batch  of  appoint 
ments  as  you  conjecture,  he  won't  have  the  confi 
dence  of  Virginia  long.  I  myself  seek  nothing  and 
want  nothing.  He  may  leave  me  out  of  the 
Cabinet  and  welcome  and  not  give  me  leave 
even  to  decline  an  appointment.  That  shall 
not  disturb  my  support  of  his  efforts  to  serve  the 
country  in  the  least.  But  if  he  mingle  one  of 


40  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

every  faction  around  his  council  board  what 
unity  will  there  be?  —of  New  York  would  not 
be  stomached  here.  Marcy  would  be,  but  he 
is  obnoxious  to  Penna.  and  to  the  Dickinson  fac 
tion  at  home.  What  then?  He  oughtn't  to 
touch  New  York.  Win  her  he  will  by  the  mass 
of  subordinate  patronage.  Let  him  appoint  Cush- 
ing  to  the  State.  There  is  not  another  man  who 
could  serve  him  as  well  or  please  us  better.  Let 
him  put  Hunter  into  the  Treasury.  I  repeat,  I 
want  nothing,  but  if  he  goes  there  it  must  be  on 
terms  of  abandoning  that  Douglas  faction  with 
whom  I  will  not  affiliate  or  compromise.  Don't 
let  him  touch  — ,  if  he  does  he  will  offend 
every  State-rights'  man  in  the  South.  In  the 
West  the  last  men  to  be  touched  are  any  of  the 
pure  Cass  or  Douglas  stock.  Bright,  or  some  one 
of  his  men,  who  backed  my  efforts  all  the  while 
for  Pierce,  from  Indiana  will  alone  do  in  that 
quarter.  I  would  recommend  an  organization  thus : 

"Cushing,  State,  New  England  democracy; 
Hunter,  Treasury,  Va.  democracy;  Bright,  P.  O. 
North  W.  Dem.  (not  of  Douglas  clique) ;  Jeff 
Davis,  War,  State  Rights;  Jno.  Cadwalader, 
Atty.  Gen.,  Penna.  dem.  (or  some  one  named 
by  Buchanan  whose  friends  nominated  Pierce); 
Abram  Renchor,  navy,  S.  E.  dem.  -  -  Interior, 
an  anti-Benton  man  from  Missouri. 

"His  elements  are — New  Eng.  democracy;  mid 
dle  influence  of  Buchanan  in  Penn.,  Va.,  N.  C., 
Ga.,  Ala.  and  Miss. ;  the  State-rights  of  the  extreme 
South  and  the  wing  of  Cassites,  the  Indiana  men 
who  backed  us  in  Convention. 

'This  combination  will  make  him  strong  and 
a  unit.     If  a  Douglas  man  goes  into  that  cabinet 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  •    41 

it  won't  last  12  months.  As  for  me  I  can  paddle 
my  own  canoe.  I  ask  no  odds,  and,  if  not  satisfied, 
will  give  no  quarter.  I  will  not  tolerate  that 
Douglas  faction.  General  Pierce  ought  to  be 
informed  that,  before  he  himself  could  be  nomi 
nated,  his  friends,  those  who  adhered  to  Buchanan 
—had,  in  conference,  to  exclude  three  men  from 
all  contingency  of  nomination,  and  those  three 
men  were — Cass,  Douglas  and  Sam.  Houston. 
The  men  who  nominated  General  Pierce  will 
be  sadly  chagrined  if  now  either  of  these  men's 
factions  is  preferred  for  the  Cabinet.  The  most 
bitter  foes  we  had  were  the  Douglasites.  I  had 
rather  dig  sweet  potatoes  here  at  home  than  be 
considered  an  expectant.  My  name  has  already 
been  allowed  to  be  battered  about  with  that  of 
and  •  and  such  cattle  until  I  feel  it 

is  sooty  and  greasy. 

"Yrs.  Truly,     HENRY  A.  WISE. 
"P.  R.  GEORGE,  Esq." 

The  Presidential  election  of  1852  is  the  first 
that  I  remember.  In  another  book  I  have 
described  my  recollection  of  the  first  announce 
ment  of  the  election  of  General  Pierce.  I  have 
always  been  partial  to  men  with  military  records, 
and  was  much  impressed  in  the  campaign  of 
1852  by  the  glorious  record  of  the  Whig  candidate, 
General  Scott.  He  was  a  magnificent  looking 
man  and  his  fellow-countrymen  had  him  displayed 
to  them  in  full  uniform — on  foot,  on  horseback,  in 
battle,  in  bivouac  and  in  salon. 

In   our  home  hung   a   picture   of   my   father 


42  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

printed  in  the  campaign  of  1840,  under  which 
was  inscribed  the  sentiment,  "The  Union  of  the 
Whigs  for  the  sake  of  the  Union  " ;  and  at  the  age 
of  six  I  found  it  difficult  to  comprehend  why  it 
was  that  we  were  called  upon  to  hurrah  for  a 
New  Hampshire  man  and  a  Democrat  against 
General  Scott,  a  Virginian  and  a  Whig  and  a 
great  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812  and  in  the  Mexican 
War.  Still,  without  thoroughly  understanding 
the  matter,  we  boys  soon  learned  to  laugh  at  the 
pretentious  "old  fuss  and  feathers,"  as  General 
Scott  was  called,  and  to  ridicule  his  lugging  of 
his  "hasty  plate  of  soup"  into  a  Presidential  cam 
paign,  and  soon  learned  to  cheer  for  Pierce  and 
King  as  lustily  as  anybody. 

One  bright  November  afternoon  my  father 
took  my  brother  and  myself  in  his  yawl  named 
the  Constitution  to  the  little  village  of  Onancock, 
where  we  received  our  mail.  It  was  a  mile 
distant,  and  we  were  soon  rowed  thither  by  two 
stalwart  slaves.  There  we  found  a  large  crowd 
assembled  at  the  store  of  Captain  Stephen  Hopkins, 
which  was  Democratic  headquarters,  and  soon 
after  our  arrival  there  was  great  cheering  over 
the  news  of  the  election  of  Pierce  and  King,  which 
came  by  the  mail  coach.  In  those  days  our 
mail  reached  us  by  a  stage  route,  which  left  the 
railroad  at  Wilmington,  Delaware,  and  ran  thence 
down  through  Delaware  and  the  eastern  shore  of 
Maryland  and  the  eastern  shore  of  Virginia. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  43 

My  father  was  of  course  called  upon  for  a 
speech,  and  aroused  great  enthusiasm  among 
his  hearers  by  assuring  them  that  he  knew  Frank 
lin  Pierce  well ;  that  he  was  a  man  of  high  charac 
ter  and  great  abilities ;  that  he  was  sound  on  the 
slavery  question,  and  that  his  election  would  put 
at  rest  all  the  issues  which  then  threatened  a  dis 
ruption  of  the  Union. 

It  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  heard  a  suggestion 
that  a  dissolution  of  the  Union  was  possible.  It 
disturbed  me  greatly,  and  on  the  way  home  I 
asked  my  father  a  great  many  troublesome 
questions  about  the  political  issues  of  the  day. 
To  me  the  Union  was  the  greatest  thing  in  the 
world.  The  idea  that  any  conditions  might  arise 
under  which  we  would  not  be  part  of  it  or  in  it 
was  to  me  monstrous,  for  I  was  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  not  one  of  any  particular  State, 
having  been  born  under  the  Star  Spangled  Banner 
in  the  empire  of  Brazil.  I  thought  the  United 
States  Navy  belonged  to  my  father,  because  for 
many  years  he  had  been  chairman  of  the  Naval 
Committee  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
When  our  family  sailed  to  Rio  it  went  in  the 
world-known  frigate  Constitution,  and  when  it 
returned,  bringing  me  with  it,  we  came  upon  the 
Columbia.  The  United  States  flag  had  floated 
over  me  every  day  for  the  first  year  of  my  life. 
The  United  States  bands  had  played  patriotic 
airs  every  morning  to  wake  me,  and  every  evening 


44  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

soothed  me  to  sleep,  as  the  sailors  of  the  nation 
rocked  me  in  their  arms;  so  that  the  United 
States  was  something  more  than  a  mere  abstraction 
to  me.  It  was  a  very  vivid  reality,  and  if  anybody 
was  threatening  to  break  it  up  and  make  a  row 
about  it  I  wanted  to  know  all  about  it  myself. 

My  father's  devotion  to  the  Union  was  just  as 
sincere  and  just  as  deep  as  my  own,  and  that 
afternoon  he  was  both  eloquent  and  enthusiastic 
and  spared  no  pains  to  reassure  me  and  put  my 
fears  at  rest.  Having  heard  from  certain  things 
which  he  said  in  his  speech  that  General  Scott 
was  not  "sound,"  and  that  General  Pierce  was 
"sound,"  my  brother  and  I  needed  no  further 
assurance,  and  were  fully  satisfied  that  Pierce 
wTas  the  right  man,  and  that  night  we  built  a 
bonfire  to  celebrate  Pierce 's  election. 

A  few  months  afterward  my  oldest  brother, 
Jennings,  bade  us  all  a  long  farewell,  having 
received  at  the  hands  of  President  Pierce  an 
appointment  as  Secretary  of  Legation  in  the 
United  States  Consular  service  at  Berlin.  This 
also  tended  to  satisfy  us  that  General  Pierce  was 
very  "  sound." 

A  young  gentleman  of  my  age  was  not  apt  to 
have  deep  impressions  or  to  reflect  profoundly 
concerning  the  administrative  acts  of  President 
Pierce;  in  fact  the  only  thing  that  I  do  recall  con 
cerning  him  is  that  soon  after  his  election  his 
little  son  was  killed  by  an  accident,  and  this  fact 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  45 

was  impressed  upon  me  by  the  circumstance  that 
his  letters  to  my  father  were  in  mourning.  The 
first  and  in  fact  the  only  time  that  I  ever  saw  Mr. 
Pierce  must  have  been  either  in  December  of 
1854  or  1855  in  Washington.  My  oldest  sister, 
Mary,  married  Dr.  Alexander  Yelverton  Peyton 
Garnett,  a  young  naval  surgeon,  who  resigned 
shortly  after  their  marriage  and  established  him 
self  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  where  they  lived  for 
many  years.  In  the  autumn  of  1850  my  mother 
died,  and  her  three  little  children,  my  brother, 
sister  and  myself,  were  sent  each  year  to  visit 
our  grandparents  in  Philadelphia.  We  generally 
passed  through  Washington  going  and  coming 
and  spent  a  few  days  at  the  home  of  my  sister, 
where  my  father  picked  us  up  and  took  us  back 
with  him  to  our  home  in  the  country. 

One  morning,  while  we  were  at  breakfast  at 
Doctor  Garnett 's,  a  note  in  mourning  was  handed 
to  my  father.  It  was  from  President  Pierce, 
requesting  him  to  come  to  the  White  House,  and 
informing  him  that  the  bearer  would  show  him 
in  by  a  private  way.  Oddly  enough  that  undated 
note  has  been  preserved  through  all  the  vicissitudes 
of  after  years  and  is  still  in  the  possession  of 
my  eldest  son,  in  his  collection  of  the  autographs 
of  distinguished  men.  My  father,  who  had  to 
make  the  rounds  of  the  Department  that  morning, 
gave  me  permission  to  accompany  him  in  his 
carriage.  I  was  soon  bundled  up  in  my  wrap  and, 


46  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

picking  up  the  messenger,  who  was  awaiting  us 
in  Doctor  Garnett's  office,  we  were  quickly 
driven  to  the  White  House.  I  think  we  were 
taken  to  the  rear  entrance,  and  there  I  was  left 
alone  in  the  carriage  for  what  seemed  to  me  to  be 
an  intolerably  long  time.  At  last  my  father 
returned,  accompanied  by  a  tall,  handsome  gentle 
man.  It  was  President  Pierce. 

In  those  primitive  days  the  intercourse  between 
public  men  was  much  more  democratic  than  it  is 
at  present.  I  have  a  vague  notion  that  the 
President  had  on  this  occasion  sent  for  my  father 
because  he  wished  to  secure  the  co-operation  of 
the  two  Virginia  Senators,  Messrs.  Hunter  and 
Mason,  in  some  public  matter,  and  that,  after 
discussing  the  subject,  they  had  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  best  way  to  reach  the  Senators 
was  to  ride  down  to  the  Capitol  together,  find 
them  in  the  Senate  and  confer  with  them  in  the 
President's  room  which  was  hard  by.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  I  had  become  an  en 
cumbrance  and  that  they  drove  by  to  leave  me  at 
Doctor  Garnett's  before  they  proceeded  to  the 
Capitol. 

When  the  President  entered  the  carriage  he 
gave  me  a  very  gracious  recognition,  and  I  in  turn 
watched  him  very  intently.  He  was  still  in 
mourning  and  seemed  sad;  perhaps  I  reminded 
him  of  his  own  little  boy.  The  things  about  him 
that  impressed  me  most  were  his  kind  bright  eyes, 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  47 

smooth-shaven  face,  sharp-pointed  nose  and  curly 
hair.  I  do  not  even  remember  any  remark 
which  he  addressed  to  me.  He  seemed  pre 
occupied  and  was  in  earnest  conversation  with 
my  father  during  our  whole  ride.  I  had  time  to 
note  his  black  kid  gloves  and  black  shirt  buttons 
before  the  carriage  reached  Doctor  Garnett's;  and 
this  constitutes  my  inventory  and  appraisement 
of  Franklin  Pierce. 

It  has  been  frequently  asserted  of  Mr.  Pierce 
that  he  was  not  a  man  of  great  ability  and  that 
he  was  an  accident.  I  remember  meeting  Judge 
Putnam  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  some 
years  ago  when  I  was  trying  a  case  before  him  in 
Boston.  We  lunched  together.  He  was  from 
New  Hampshire,  and  in  his  early  days  had  known 
General  Pierce  very  well.  The  case  we  were 
trying  was  a  controversy  between  two  electrical 
corporations  involving  their  respective  rights  of 
user  of  electrical  currents  in  the  highway,  which 
interfered  with  each  other.  The  Judge  was 
pleased  to  remark  that  it  was  a  subject  with  which 
I  seemed  to  be  very  familiar,  and  I  replied  that  I 
ought  to  be  familiar  with  the  subject  as  I  had 
argued  the  same  question  in  twenty-seven  States 
of  the  Union  and  in  England.  Judge  Putnam 
was  disposed  to  be  facetious  and  replied,  "Take 
care  that  somebody  doesn't  say  of  you  what  old 
Deacon  said  of  Frank  Pierce."  I  asked 

him  to  tell  me  the  story,  which  he  did,  as  follows : 


48  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

"  Mr.  Pierce  was  a  popular  man  in  New  Hampshire 
but  he  was  never  regarded  as  a  very  able  man. 
The  news  of  his  nomination  to  the  Presidency  was 
a  great  surprise  to  the  community  in  which  he 
lived.  Old  Deacon  had  known  Mr.  Pierce 

all  his  life.  When  he  heard  of  his  nomination  for 
the  Presidency  he  exclaimed,  '  Wall,  wall,  dew 
tell!  Frank  Pierce  for  President!  Neow  Frank's 
a  good  fellow,  I  admit,  and  I  wish  him  well;  he 
made  a  good  State's  attorney,  thar's  no  doubt 
about  that,  and  he  made  a  far  Jedge,  thar's 
no  denying  that,  and  nobody  kaint  complain  of 
him  as  a  Congressman,  but  when  it  comes  to  the 
hull  Yewnited  States  I  dew  say  that  in  my  jedg- 
ment  Frank  Pierce  is  a-goin'  to  spread  durned 
thin.'" 

I  laughed  heartily  at  the  anecdote,  but  told  the 
Judge  I  didn't  know  whether  it  bore  harder  upon 
Mr.  Pierce  or  upon  myself. 

Notwithstanding  this  uncomplimentary  estimate 
of  his  old  neighbour,  history  will  give  President 
Pierce  a  very  respectable  place  among  our  chief 
magistrates.  He  was  called  to  office  in  a  perilous 
and  trying  period.  It  was  a  time  which  demanded 
fearlessness  and  caution  and  repression,  and  he 
performed  his  hard  task  well  and  faithfully  and 
patriotically.  He  was  thoroughly  acceptable  to 
those  whose  votes  elected  him.  It  is  true  that  he 
was  often  reproached  for  leaning  too  strongly 
to  his  Southern  supporters,  but  why  should  he  not 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  49 

have  done  so  ?  They  nominated  him  and  supported 
him  in  opposition  to  a  Southern  man.  They  were 
unquestionably  the  dominant  influence  in  the 
national  politics  of  that  day.  All  that  he  was 
he  owed  to  them.  His  loyalty  to  their  views,  so 
long  as  he  and  they  kept  within  the  bounds  of 
constitutional  propriety,  was  both  natural  and 
right. 

One  of  the  most  attractive  accounts  of  the 
personal  characteristics  of  President  Pierce  is  to 
be  found  in  a  book  recently  published  by  Mrs. 
Clay,  the  widow  of  Senator  Clay  of  Alabama.  It 
is  particularly  attractive  in  its  description  of  the 
social  life  at  that  time  in  the  Federal  Capital,  and 
I  cordially  recommend  it  to  everyone  who  is 
interested  in  the  subject. 


JAMES    BUCHANAN 


III.— JAMES  BUCHANAN 

IT  REQUIRES  a  vigorous  appeal  to  memory  to 
cast  back  to  the  time  when  Pennsylvania  was  in 
the  column  of  staunch  Democratic  States,  yet 
such  she  was  when  I  first  remember  her. 

My  uncle,  William  Sergeant,  was  a  Democratic 
member  of  the  Lower  House  in  the  Pennsylvania 
Legislature  from  the  City  of  Philadelphia  when  I 
was  a  small  boy.  I  remember  his  leading  me 
by  the  hand  through  the  streets  of  Philadelphia, 
from  one  bulletin  board  to  the  other,  when  the 
returns  were  coming  in  which  announced  the 
election  of  William  F.  Packer,  Democratic  Gov 
ernor  of  the  State,  and  in  the  Presidential  election 
of  1856  the  Keystone  State  went  with  a  whoop 
for  Buchanan  and  Breckenridge,  or  "  Buck  and 
Breck,"  as  they  were  called  in  the  political  lingo 
of  the  day. 

A  long  friendship  had  existed  between  Mr. 
Buchanan  and  my  father,  who  was  again  a  potent 
factor  in  the  Democratic  National  Convention 
which  nominated  Mr.  Buchanan. 

My  grandfather  Sergeant  died  in  1852  and  my 
uncle,  who  was  very  much  attached  to  my  father, 
had  fallen  from  the  Whig  faith  and  become  an 
ardent  follower  and  supporter  of  Democracy. 

53 


54  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

Many  of  the  letters  which  passed  between  Mr. 
Buchanan  and  my  father  are  still  in  my  possession, 
and  show  how  very  grateful  and  appreciative  the 
kind  old  gentleman  was  of  my  father's  efforts 
in  his  behalf.  In  more  than  one  of  them  he 
declared  that  he  regarded  his  nomination  as  more 
due  to  the  advocacy  of  my  father  than  to  any 
other  one  man  in  the  United  States. 

Pfhe  Presidential  campaign  of  1856  was,  if  I 
mistake  not,  the  first  in  which  political  cartoons 
figured  extensively.  The  news-stands  and  win 
dows  of  book  stores  were  filled  with  them,  and 
they  were  a  delight  to  the  small  boy.  It  was  a 
primitive,  but  amusing  and  no  doubt  effective, 
form  of  campaigning  resorted  to  by  all  the  parties. 
There  were  Buchanan  and  Breckenridge  cartoons 
and  Filmore  and  Donaldson  cartoons  and  Fremont 
and  Dayton  cartoons.  As  a  class  they  were 
very  poor  specimens  of  drawing  and  of  wit. 
They  were  cheap  lithographs  representing  all 
sorts  of  birds  and  animals  with  poor  likenesses  of 
the  candidate  for  their  heads.  There  was  gener 
ally  in  the  background  a  picture  of  the  White 
House  or  something  else  suggestive  of  the  Presi 
dential  chair.  Great  streamers  came  out  of 
the  mouths  of  the  caricatures,  and  on  those 
streamers  were  recorded  feeble  efforts  at  wit 
which  the  various  actors  were  supposed  to  perpe 
trate.  Mr.  Buchanan  was  always  represented  as 
a  buck.  In  the  Democratic  cartoons  he  was 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  55 

portrayed  running  for  the  White  House  in  the 
background  and  distancing  all  competitors. 
"  Breck "  not  infrequently  appeared  upon 
"  Buck's "  back  riding  him  in  a  winning  race. 
In  the  opposition  cartoons  "  Buck  "  was  frequently 
represented  as  having  been  shot  by  the  opposition 
candidate.  Sometimes  he  was  strung  up  and  in 
process  of  being  skinned.  The  supposed  abolition 
tendencies  in  early  life  of  Mr.  Breckenridge  were 
made  the  subject  of  great  ridicule  and  comment 
by  his  political  opponents.  I  remember  that  one 
of  the  cartoons  represented  Uncle  Sam  playing 
the  banjo  and  singing  a  parody  upon  "John 
Anderson,  My  Joe,  John."  It  began: 

"  John  Breckenridge,  my  Joe  John, 
When  we  were  first  aquaint, 
You  were  an  Abolitionist, 
And  now  you  say  you  ain't." 

Fremont  was  often  exhibited  riding  upon  a 
"woolly  horse,"  which  was  declared  to  be  the 
only  thing  he  had  discovered  in  his  boasted 
Rocky  Mountain  explorations.  In  one  of  these 
seated  behind  him  was  his  wife,  the  daughter  of 
Senator  Benton,  with  whom  he  eloped. 

Mr.  Filmore  was  represented  as  an  Abolitionist 
walking  arm  in  arm  with  a  negro  woman;  and  so 
on  and  so  on. 

In  all  these  pictures  everybody  was  represented 
as  doing  a  wonderful  amount  of  talking,  which 


56  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

either  consisted  of  bragging  about  what  he  was 
going  to  do,  or  what  he  had  done,  or  in  ridiculing 
something  which  his  opponents  had  done  or 
proposed.] 

At  this  time  my  father  was  Governor  and  we 
lived  in  Richmond.  Richmond  was  a  Whig 
know-nothing  town  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 
By  far  the  most  brilliant  campaigners  of  the 
place  were  the  advocates  of  Filmore  and  Donaldson 
and  the  American  party.  Mr.  Fremont  had  no 
following  in  Virginia. 

These  witty  and  aggressive  speakers  delighted 
in  lampooning  and  ridiculing  my  father,  and  their 
boys  and  the  sons  of  their  followers  were  delighted 
whenever  they  had  a  chance  to  try  conclusions 
with  the  little  Democratic  boys.  The  boys  of 
Richmond  have  always  been  notoriously  bad  boys, 
and  nothing  gave  the  little  Whig  and  Know- 
nothing  boys  more  pleasure  at  that  time  than 
trying  to  lick  the  Democratic  Governor's  sons. 
Sometimes  they  did;  and  sometimes  they  didn't. 
But  there  was  work  enough  to  keep  all  of  us  busy. 

After  Mr.  Buchanan's  election  my  father,  at 
his  request,  paid  him  a  visit  at  his  home  "  Wheat- 
land  "  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Buchanan 
offered  him  a  place  in  his  cabinet,  but  he  declined 
to  accept  it,  preferring  the  position  which  he 
held. 

| By  this  time  I  was  old  enough  to  comprehend 
something  of  such  matters,  and  I  remember  how 


THIRTEEN  PRESIDENTS  57 

interested  I  was,  sitting  in  my  father's  office  and 
hearing  him  describe  to  his  visitors  the  domestic 
life  of  Mr.  Buchanan  at  "  Wheatland."  It  must 
have  been  strangely  in  contrast  with  his  mode  of 
living  at  the  Court  of  St.  James's  while  he  was 
Minister  to  England.  My  father  was  a  very 
vivid  raconteur,  and  from  his  descriptions  of 
social  life  at  Lancaster  in  those  days  it  must  have 
been  a  most  primitive  democracy.  The  neigh 
bouring  population  was  Dutch.  Everybody  called 
everybody  else  by  his  first  name.  Mr.  Buchanan 
was  universally  referred  to  and  addressed  by  his 
neighbours  and  friends  as  Jaimie  Buchanan. 
They  drove  up  to  his  house  in  their  wagons  and 
carts  or  more  pretentious  vehicles,  tied  their 
animals  to  the  trees  or  fences  in  the  yard,  walked 
right  into  his  house  in  their  humble  farm  clothes, 
many  of  them  delivering  him  presents  of  apples, 
pumpkins,  chestnuts,  cider  or  cheese,  or  whatever 
tokens  of  their  loyalty  and  friendship  they  pos 
sessed,  and  made  themselves  at  home,  stayed  as 
long  as  they  saw  fit,  talked  to  their  host  in  the 
most  familiar  way,  and  when  their  curiosity  or 
their  friendly  interest  was  satisfied  took  their 
departure  and  bade  Jaimie  farewell  most  affec 
tionate!^ 

Mr.  Buchanan  understood  them  fully,  prized 
their  devotion  sincerely,  even  if  it  was  rough,  and 
adapted  himself  studiously  to  their  simplicity 
and  neighbourly  kindness. 


58  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

But  that  sort  of  social  freedom  gave  him  very 
little  opportunity  for  the  consultations  of  states 
manship,  as  his  house  was  overrun  morning,  noon 
and  night  with  the  free  and  easy  citizens  of  the 
Conestoga  Valley.  But  when  it  came  to  his 
residence  in  Washington  nobody  who  ever  occupied 
the  White  House  presided  over  it  with  more 
dignity  or  in  a  style  more  courtly  and  befitting  a 
President  than  did  Mr.  Buchanan.  He  was  a 
bachelor.  His  favourite  niece,  Miss  Harriet 
Lane,  was  a  handsome,  charming,  accomplished 
woman.  She  had  been  the  mistress  of  his  home 
while  he  was  in  England,  I  think,  and  at  any  rate 
presided  over  the  White  House  as  mistress  of  cere 
monies  during  his  Presidential  term,  and  was  uni 
versally  popular. 

About  the  middle  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  term  my 
brother  Jennings  returned  to  America  after  four 
or  five  years  absence  as  Secretary  of  Legation, 
first  at  Berlin  with  Mr.  Peter  D.  Vroom  of  New 
Jersey,  and  afterward  in  Paris  with  Mr.  John  Y. 
Mason  of  Virginia.  I  think  he  had  known  Miss 
Lane  abroad.  At  any  rate,  after  his  return  they 
became  warm  friends.  The  newspaper  gossip 
of  the  day  even  went  so  far  as  to  publish  hints 
that  there  was  an  affair  between  them,  but  I  have 
no  idea  there  was  any  real  foundation  for  the 
report.  They  were  simply  two  delightful  young 
persons  whose  tastes  were  congenial  and  whose 
long  residence  abroad  and  experience  in  public 


MISS  HARRIET  LANE 

Mistress  of  the  White  House,  1857-61 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  59 

society  made  their  companionship  agreeable  to 
each  other.  Nevertheless,  my  brother  was  always 
enthusiastic  about  Miss  Lane  and  referred  to 
her  in  terms  of  unbounded  admiration  and  respect. 
Long  after  the  war,  and  years  after  my  brother's 
death,  I  remember  hearing  that  Miss  Lane,  who 
had  by  that  time  become  Mrs.  Johnson,  spoke  of 
him  in  the  most  affectionate  and  admiring  way. 
I  can  testify  to  the  hospitality  and  courtliness 
of  Mr.  Buchanan,  although  the  presence  of  Miss 
Lane  was  not  deemed  necessary  upon  the  occasion 
of  my  visit.  I  think  it  was  in  the  winter  of 
1857  that  I  paid  my  first  formal  visit  to  the 
White  House.  I  had  been  upon  my  usual  annual 
visit  to  Philadelphia,  and  my  uncle,  William 
Sergeant,  accompanied  us  back  to  Richmond. 
Although  not  strictly  germane  to  the  subject,  it 
will  interest  the  reader  to  hear  about  the  method 
of  travel  at  that  time,  which  was  not  much  like  it 
is  at  present.  In  order  to  reach  the  depot  in 
Philadelphia  it  was  necessary  that  we  should 
ride  in  a  carriage  a  long  distance  from  Fourth 
Street  to  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Depot  at 
Broad  and  Prime  streets,  for  there  were  no 
street  cars  as  at  present.  There  we  took  the 
cars  and  went  by  rail  to  Perryville.  At  Perry- 
ville  we  left  the  train  and  went  down  what 
seemed  to  be  an  interminable  and  steep  stairway 
to  a  ferryboat.  We  crossed  the  Susquehanna 
River  on  this  ferryboat  to  Havre  de  Grace,  and 


60  RECOLLECTIONS   OP 

from  that  climbed  up  another  steep  and  almost 
interminable  stairway  to  a  train  which  bore  us  to 
Baltimore.  Upon  our  arrival  at  Calvert  Street 
station  in  Baltimore  our  engine  was  detached,  and 
the  train  was  hauled  through  the  streets  of  Balti 
more  by  a  long  line  of  horses  with  bells  on  them 
to  Camden  Street  station.  There  another  engine 
awaited  us  which  hauled  us  to  the  President 
Street  station  in  Washington,  whence  we  wrere 
taken  in  an  omnibus  half  as  long  as  a  car  to  a 
hotel,  where  we  spent  the  night.  Early  the  next 
morning  the  same  omnibus  carted  us  a  long 
distance  to  a  point  near  the  Navy  Yard  in  Wash 
ington,  where  we  boarded  a  steamer  for  Acquia 
Creek.  We  reached  that  place  about  ten  o'clock 
and  there  took  a  train  on  the  Richmond, 
Fredericksburg  &  Potomac  Railroad  for  Rich 
mond,  which  latter  place  we  reached  about  the 
same  hour  at  which  we  left  Philadelphia  the  day 
before.  Sleeping  cars  were  in  those  days  unknown ; 
there  was  no  through  traffic  and  very  few  night 
trains.  We  stopped  for  a  day  of  rest  in  Washing 
ton,  and  rny  uncle  informed  us  we  were  all  to  call 
upon  the  President  the  next  morning.  That  was 
a  great  event.  Upon  our  appearance  at  the 
White  House  Mr.  Buchanan  received  us  most 
cordially.  He  was  an  imposing  looking  old  gentle 
man,  tall  and  of  large  frame,  dressed  in  spotless 
black,  with  a  high  white  stock.  His  coat  was  cut 
something  like  the  dress  suits  of  the  present  day 


THIRTEEN  PRESIDENTS  61 

but  with  fuller  skirts.  His  hair  was  white,  close 
cut,  and  stood  straight  up  from  his  head.  His 
complexion  was  pink  and  healthy  looking.  He 
carried  his  head  on  one  side  as  if  he  had  a  stiff 
neck,  and  the  thing  about  him  which  was  most 
surprising  to  me  was  that  one  of  his  eyes  was 
dark  hazel  and  the  other  light  blue.  I  fear  the 
dear  old  gentleman  must  have  observed  the 
intentness  with  which  I  scrutinised  this  last 
phenomenon,  for  at  that  time  it  was  a  new  one  to 
me. 

After  greeting  Mr.  Sergeant  most  cordially  the 
President  turned  to  us  and  our  Irish  nurse  and 
said  in  the  kindest  way,  "  So  these  are  the  children 
of  Governor  Wise,  are  they?  I  am  glad  to  see 
you,  children.  Your  papa  is  a  very  dear  friend 
of  mine." 

"  Second  crop,  Mr.  President,"  said  my  uncle 
facetiously,  for  he  was  an  irrepressible  wit  and 
wag.  ;<  Yes,  I  know,"  said  Mr.  Buchanan  smiling; 
"they  are  the  children  of  his  second  wife,  who  was 
your  sister.  I  met  his  son  by  his  first  marriage 
several  times  when  I  was  abroad.  Well,  now, 
children,  what  can  I  do  to  make  you  happy  while 
I  talk  with  your  uncle.  Let  us  see."  Thereupon 
he  rang  a  little  bell  beside  him  and  summoned  one 
of  the  attendants,  and  upon  his  appearance  bade 
him  take  us  to  the  greenhouse  and  show  us  the 
pretty  things  there  and  give  us  what  flowers  we 
wanted,  and  when  we  were  sufficiently  amused 


62  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

bring  us  back  to  luncheon  in  half  an  hour.  He  was 
arranging  so  that  he  might  in  the  meanwhile  inquire 
about  his  Pennsylvania  "fences"  from  my  uncle, 
who  was  one  of  his  trusted  friends  in  that  State. 

In  due  time  we  reappeared  and  were  seated  as 
distinguished  guests  in  the  dining  room  at  a  fine 
luncheon.  We  had  all  the  bread  and  butter  and 
jam  and  hot-house  grapes  that  our  hearts  could 
desire.  "  Old  Buck,"  who,  even  if  he  had  no 
children  of  his  own,  knew  mighty  well  how  to 
entertain  the  young  hopefuls  of  his  constituents, 
came  in  before  we  finished  our  repast,  smiled  at 
us  and  inquired  if  we  were  being  taken  care  of, 
asked  us  many  pleasant  questions,  and  finally 
bade  us  good-bye  with  kindly  messages  for  home. 
I  think  he  gave  each  of  us  a  photograph  of  himself, 
but  mine  went  into  the  seething  vortex  of  war 
losses  when  our  home  and  all  its  contents  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Union  troops  in  1862.  So  that 
even  if  Miss  Harriet  Lane  did  look  upon  us  as 
beneath  her  dignity,  we  left  the  White  House 
ready  to  support  "  Old  Buck  "  for  a  second  term, 
if  he  wanted  it. 

Upon  reaching  Richmond  my  uncle  amused  my 
father  with  his  accounts  of  our  raid  upon  the 
White  House  and  of  the  dexterity  of  good  old 
President  Buchanan  in  dealing  with  a  class  of 
guests  with  whom  he  was  not  very  familiar. 

Poor  old  President  Buchanan.  Times  like  those 
upon  which  he  fell  are  not  suited  to  a  man  of 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  63 

seventy.  Whatever  he  may  have  been  in  his 
younger  days,  the  great  crisis  which  he  was 
called  upon  to  confront  found  him  a  weak,  vacillat 
ing,  hysterical  old  man,  with  whom  everybody, 
friend  and  foe  alike,  at  last  lost  patience. 

I  remember  an  anecdote  resorted  to  by  my 
father  to  emphasize  Mr.  Buchanan's  indecision, 
which  made  a  deep  impression  upon  me  when  I 
heard  it.  Something  came  up  in  the  winter  of 
1 860- 1,  concerning  which  it  was  thought  that,  if 
the  President  acted  promptly,  his  ruling  would 
be  decisive.  Some  person  said,  "Will  not  the 
President  act?  He  has  it  in  his  power  to  settle 
it  at  once,  if  he  will  but  take  a  decided  stand. 
His  duty  is  too  plain  for  discussion.  Cannot  you, 
as  his  friend,  Governor  Wise,  induce  him  to  do 
what  is  right?" 

"  Bah!  "  said  my  father  contemptuously.  "  You 
do  not  know  Mr.  Buchanan  or  you  would  not 
expect  him  to  take  decided  ground  about  any 
thing.  He  reminds  me  of  a  discussion  I  heard 
between  two  of  my  darkies  about  the  Christian 
religion.  One  of  them  planted  himself  upon  a 
proposition  which  the  other  was  unwilling  to 
deny  and  yet  equally  unwilling  to  admit.  The 
proposer,  seeing  his  advantage,  addressed  his 
adversary  *vith  the  inquiry:  'Is  what  I  say  so, 
or  not  so?:  His  antagonist  hesitated,  scratched 
his  head,  and  at  last  exclaimed,  '  Well,  Joshua,  if 
I  must  answer  you,  dis  is  what  I  have  to  say.  I 


64  THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS 

say  dat  what  you  says  may  be  sort  of  so,  but  at  de 
same  time  it  is  sort  of  not  so,  and  de  more  I 
thinks  of  what  you  say  de  more  I  believe  it  is  a 
leetle  more  sort  of  not  so  dan  it  is  sort  of  so.' 

"And  that,"  added  my  father,  "  is  the  attitude 
of  the  poor  old  fellow  upon  every  question  which 
now  comes  up  before  him.  He  is  simply  paralysed 
by  the  immensity  of  the  issues  and  the  perils  of 
the  hour." 

Mr.  Buchanan  lived  until  1868,  and  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy-seven,  but  during  the  three  years 
after  the  war  ended  I  am  sure  that  no  communica 
tion  passed  between  my  father  and  his  old  friend. 


JEFFERSON   DAVIS 


IV.-JEFFERSON  DAVIS 

THE  reader  must  now  accompany  me  for  a  little 
while  to  a  region  outside  the  United  States,  for 
shortly  after  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  Mr. 
Buchanan  I  took  up  my  residence  for  four  years 
in  a  foreign  country,  viz.,  The  Confederate  States 
of  America. 

Mr.  Lincoln  never  acquiesced  in  this  view  and 
insisted  that  he  was  my  President,  nor  did  I 
ever  have  a  chance  to  discuss  it  with  him  person 
ally.  The  logic  of  events  had  about  convinced 
me  that  I  could  not  make  my  contention  good, 
however  sound  it  might  be  in  theory,  when  Mr. 
Lincoln  fell  beneath  the  hand  of  the  assassin. 

I  was  fourteen  years  old  when  the  great  Civil 
War  broke  out.  Regarding  my  age  when  it 
ended,  I  was  much  in  the  condition  of  a  little 
darkey  on  a  Virginia  plantation.  He  opened 
the  farm  gate  for  a  visitor  to  his  master,  and 
scrambled  up  behind  on  the  vehicle  to  ride  to 
the  great  house.  The  visitor,  impressed  by  his 
bright  face  and  general  precocity,  looked  back 
at  him  and  said,  "  You  are  a  bright  little  chap,  my 
boy.  How  old  are  you?" 

Grinning  from  ear  to  ear,  the  boy  replied,  "  I 
dunno,  sir,  'xactly  how  old  I  is.  Mammy  says  I 

67 


68  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

ean't  but  fo-teen.  But  by  de  fun  I  is  had  I 
'spec  I  must  be  'bout  twenty-five!" 

Whether  my  experiences  during  the  four  years 
in  which  the  war  lasted  be  called  fun  or  something 
else,  they  brought  with  them  a  grim  realisation 
of  life's  seriousness,  and  I  developed  more  rapidly 
during  that  time  than  in  any  like  period  of  my 
existence. 

\Lwas  "possessed"  by  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  but 
11  obsessed  "  by  Mr.  Abraham  Lincoln.  The  reader 
will  please  observe  the  appropriateness  of  this 
description. 

The  word  obsess  is  a  comparatively  new  one. 
One  cannot  find  it  in  the  dictionaries  of  the 
Confederate  period,  but  I  like  it  because  it  ex 
presses  a  condition.  Ftmk  &  Wagnall  define 
obsession  as  a  "  condition  of  being  vexed  by  a 
spirit  from  the  outside."  See  how  it  fits? 

If  Mr.  Lincoln  had  really  been  what  my  youthful 
fancy  pictured  him  the  term  would  suit  my 
case  all  the  better,  for  the  lexicographers  declare 
that  it  applies  "more  particularly  to  evil  spirits," 
and  that  surely  was  what  I  considered  him  then. 

Among  the  people  with  whom  I  was  reared  the 
Northern  people  were  believed  to  be  the  ag 
gressors  and  the  Southern  people  thought  they 
were  acting  purely  on  the  defensive.  I  believed 
that  as  religiously  as  I  ever  believed  anything. 

We  regarded  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  as 
simply  registering  the  purpose  of  the  people  in  the 


JEFFERSON  DAVIS 

The  first  and  only  president  of  the  Confederacy  (1861-65). 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  69 

Northern  and  Western  States  to  disregard  every 
Constitutional  guaranty  to  the  Southern  States 
and  to  overthrow  the  institution  of  slavery  by 
fair  means  or  by  foul.  The  people  among  whom 
I  was  reared  were  not  zealous  advocates  of  slavery. 
On  the  contrary,  they  looked  upon  it  as  an  in 
herited  evil,  about  which  they  were  constantly 
debating  methods  by  which  it  might  be  ulti 
mately  abolished.  As  for  myself,  I  think  my 
New  England  and  Puritan  blood  must  have  been 
asserting  itself,  for,  as  far  as  a  boy  of  my  age 
may  be  said  to  have  had  any  views  upon  a  subject 
of  that  gravity,  mine  were  such  that  even  had  the 
war  not  occurred  I  believe  I  would  have  grown 
up  an  Abolitionist.  Moreover,  unless  I  grossly 
misapprehended  the  sentiments  of  older  people, 
I  believe  Virginia  would  of  her  own  volition 
have  abolished  slavery  in  a  very  short  time  but 
for  outside  interference. 

But  the  argument  of  that  time  was  that  the 
North  was  unjustifiably  and  impertinently  intrud 
ing  and  interfering  in  a  matter  with  which  it  had 
nothing  to  do,  in  utter  disregard  of  Constitutional 
limitations,  and  that  if  it  might  do  this  it  might 
do  the  same  thing  concerning  other  matters  until 
the  South  was  at  its  mercy. 

It  was  further  argued  that,  as  the  Northern  and 
Southern  views  of  the  interpretation  of  the 
Constitution  had  been  from  the  first  radically 
and  irreconcilably  in  conflict,  the  South  ought  to 


70  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

withdraw  from  the  Union,  else  it  would  be  com 
pletely  dominated  by  the  North. 

That  was  unquestionably  the  plea  upon  which 
the  greater  part  of  the  Southern  people  were 
induced  to  give  up  a  love  for  the  Union  and 
ultimately  to  favour  secession. 

But  slavery  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  trouble, 
no  matter  who  may  delude  himself  to  the  contrary. 

Children  are  among  the  keenest  of  listeners  and 
closest  of  observers.  They  are,  too,  as  apt  as 
anybody  to  see  and  hear  the  real  underlying 
motives  of  great  controversies,  the  good  as  well 
as  the  bad,  even  when  older  people  seek  to  veil 
them  beneath  sophistries. 

The  political  leaders  of  the  South  must  have 
been  intensely  inflamed  and  in  deadly  earnest 
against  the  North.  I  do  not  remember  that  in  all 
the  discussions  I  heard  preceding  the  war  I  ever 
heard  any  Southern  man  concede  to  the  Repub 
lican  party  or  its  leaders  any  broad  or  patriotic 
purpose  or  any  conciliatory  feeling  toward  the 
South.  Lincoln,  Seward,  Chase,  Wade,  Greeley— 
in  fact,  all  the  Republican  leaders — were  denounced 
as  South-haters  who  at  heart  rejoiced  even  at  the 
lunatic  blood-thirstiness  of  John  Brown,  and  as  men 
who  would,  if  they  dared  to  do  so,  incite  and  encou 
rage  servile  insurrection,  murder  and  rapine  to  ac 
complish  the  destruction  of  slavery,  regardless  of  the 
terror  or  suffering  which  might  be  inflicted  thereby 
upon  their  white  brethren  in  the  Southern  States. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  71 

The  Southern  masses  had  unquestionably  been 
wrought  up  to  this  belief  when  they  voted  in 
favour  of  their  respective  States  seceding  from 
the  Union.  So  believing,  they  were  fully  justified 
in  making  the  effort. 

It  is  easy  to  say  that  the  South  was  in  the 
wrong,  and,  admitting  it,  it  does  not  wipe  out  the 
fact  that  the  Northern  people  themselves  were 
far  from  blameless  in  that  they  countenanced  and 
even  encouraged  the  doing  and  the  saying  of  many 
things  in  public  and  in  private  which  gave  colour 
to  the  popular  apprehensions  in  the  South. 

For  this  reason  I  have  never  felt  called  upon  to 
defend  my  section  for  attempting  to  secede. 
The  South  may  have  been  as  arrogant  and  domi 
neering  as  Northern  writers  represent  her,  but 
there  was  enough  of  arrogance  and  bad  blood  in 
the  North  to  make  Southern  men  desire  to  dissolve 
political  partnership  with  her.  The  right  to 
secede  was  always  a  debatable  one,  with  the  pre 
ponderance  of  logic  favouring  the  abstract  right, 
and  sentiment,  rhetoric,  eloquence  and  the  hope 
of  National  greatness  all  opposed. 

It  is  all  easy  enough  now  to  see  that  the  Nation 
is  greater  and  more  prosperous  than  either  could 
possibly  have  been  if  two  nations  had  been 
formed  from  it.  But  much  of  its  greatness  is  the 
result  of  the  great  war,  and  it  would  not  have 
achieved  it  if  the  war  had  not  happened.  It  is 
easy,  too,  to  moralise  now  about  the  way  in  which 


72  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

the  conflict  might  have  been  avoided  but  for  the 
ambitious  designs  of  this  man  or  that,  or  this 
set  of  men  or  that.  Undoubtedly  it  might  have 
been  avoided  if  men  had  been  angels.  But  the 
quarreling  over  the  things  that  led  to  the  war 
had  gone  on  so  long  and  had  been  so  acrimonious 
that  a  good  blood-letting  was  the  only  way  to  put 
an  end  to  it.  When  at  last  the  fight  did  come, 
and  the  North  proceeded  to  coerce  the  South,  the 
attitude  of  the  Northern  man  who  sided  with  the 
South  was  not  a  whit  more  peculiar  or  unnatural 
than  that  of  the  Southerner  who  sided  with  the 
North.  It  required  a  great  deal  more  of  explana 
tion  to  justify  the  action  of  such  than  it  did  to 
justify  those  who  maintained  their  natural  affilia 
tions. 

Unquestionably  there  were  good  men  from 
both  sections  who  adhered  to  the  cause  of  the 
opposite  section.  But  there  were  not  many  of 
that  kind  on  either  side.  As  a  class  those  who 
took  sides  against  their  own  section  were  a  sorry 
lot,  both  North  and  South,  and  both  sides  know 
it,  whether  they  confess  the  fact  or  not. 

For  myself  I  am  glad  I  sided  with  the  South. 
I  do  not  mean  to  imply  by  this  that,  after  all, 
things  did  not  turn  out  for  the  best.  But  the 
Southern  side  was  mine,  naturally,  and  I  would 
rather  have  been  whipped  fighting  for  and  with 
my  friends  than  have  aided  in  such  a  bitter  and 
blood-thirsty  struggle  against  them.  In  after 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  73 

years  I  became  identified  with  a  political  party 
which  is  opposed  by  the  great  mass  of  my  old 
Confederate  comrades.  But  that  is  quite  a  differ 
ent  matter.  It  is  not  like  fighting  them  and 
shedding  their  blood. 

It  only  means  that  concerning  political  policies 
and  current  events  I  believe  that  I  have  more 
common  sense  than  they  have.  They  do  not 
think  so  now,  but  the  time  will  come  when  they 
will  find  out  that  I  was  in  the  right  and  they  were 
in  the  wrong.  But  quarrel  as  we  may  about  the 
things  of  the  present,  they  cannot  deny  my 
Confederate  brotherhood  with  them,  nor  can 
they  rob  me,  if  in  their  wrath  they  would  attempt 
it,  of  the  pride  I  have  in  the  fact  that  I  was  a 
Confederate  soldier.  Whatever  else  we  may  have 
lost  in  that  struggle,  we  gave  the  world  Robert  E. 
Lee,  and  he  led  an  army  with  a  record  of  valour 
that  will  preserve  its  memory  as  long  as  the  world 
counts  courage  and  self-sacrifice  among  the  noblest 
traits  of  men. 

So  let  not  my  reader  expect  to  hear  from  me  any 
explanations  or  regrets  about  my  having  been 
a  so-called  Rebel.  That  is  just  what  I  was,  and 
while  I  do  not  want  to  flaunt  the  fact  offensively 
in  the  face  of  anybody  who  felt  differently,  I 
must  admit  that  to  this  day  I  am  proud  of  my 
record  as  a  follower  of  Lee. 

All  that  was  a  long  time  ago,  and  those  who 
felt  most  bitterly  about  it  are  now  reconciled, 


74  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

but  there  is  one  exception  to  the  general  amnesty 
of  the  Northern  mind  which  I  cannot  for  the 
life  of  me  understand,  and  that  is  why,  when 
the  Northern  people  seem  to  have  forgiven  all 
other  Confederates,  they  still  in  some  indefinable 
way  and  for  some  inexplicable  reason  cherish  a 
grudge  against  Mr.  Davis,  as  if  he  were  called 
upon  to  make  vicarious  atonement  for  the  sins 
of  all  the  rest  of  us.  What  did  he  do  that  keeps 
him  without  the  pale  of  Northern  charity?  He 
certainly  was  not  so  pre-eminently  great  that 
he  led  his  people  against  their  will.  He  was  not 
so  popular  that  he  might  mislead  them.  He  was 
neither  so  good  that  he  did  the  North  unusual 
damage,  nor  so  bad  that  he  excited  their  special 
vengeance.  Their  attitude  toward  him  only  ex 
cites  sympathy  among  his  old  comrades,  with 
whom  he  was  never  a  favourite,  and  makes  a  soft 
place  for  him  in  the  heart  of  every  ex-Confederate. 
Mr.  Davis  was  never  a  particular  friend  to  me 
or  mine.  I  never  believed  he  was  a  very  great 
man,  or  even  the  best  President  the  Confederate 
States  might  have  had.  But  he  was  our  President. 
Whatever  shortcomings  he  may  have  had,  he  was 
a  brave,  conscientious  and  loyal  son  of  the  South. 
He  did  his  best,  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability,  for  the 
Southern  cause.  He,  without  being  a  whit  worse 
than  the  rest  of  us,  was  made  to  suffer  for  us  as 
was  no  other  man  in  the  Confederacy.  And 
through  it  all  he  never,  to  the  day  of  his  death, 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  75 

failed  to  maintain  the  honour  and  the  dignity  of 
the  trust  confided  to  his  keeping. 

Yet  the  North  seems  not  to  have  forgiven  him. 
For  that  very  reason  I  cherish  his  memory  with 
peculiar  tenderness.  After  forty  years  of  renewed 
loyalty  to  our  re-united  country,  in  which  I  have 
battled  for  the  acceptance  in  good  faith  by  the 
Southern  people  of  the  results  of  the  war;  after 
seeing,  with  loyal  pride,  my  sons  bearing  to 
victory  the  flag  against  which  I  fought,  I  feel  that 
I  have  a  right  to  stand  up  anywhere  and  demand 
for  the  memory  of  Jefferson  Davis  just  as  much 
kindness,  just  as  much  charity  and  just  as  much 
forgiveness  as  is  accorded  to  the  memories  of 
Lee  or  Johnston  or  any  of  the  great  Confederate 
heroes.  I  believe  that  his  courageous  and  constant 
soul  is  at  rest  in  a  heaven  somewhere  provided 
for  brave  and  loyal  spirits  whose  reward  does  not 
depend  upon  success,  or  even  upon  whether  they 
were  in  fact  right  or  wrong,  but  upon  their  having 
striven  in  this  world  for  what  they  believed  was 
right  according  to  the  power  God  gave  them  to  see 
the  right.  And  that  is  what  I  believe  Mr.  Davis 
did. 

The  first  time  I  ever  saw  him  was  in  the  summer 
of  1862,  after  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines  and  before 
the  seven  days'  battles  around  Richmond. 

In  1 86 1  the  Third  Alabama  Regiment  was 
encamped  near  our  home,  "Rolleston,"  near  Nor 
folk.  Taken  altogether,  it  was  the  finest  regiment 


76  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

I  ever  saw.  When  Norfolk  was  evacuated  in  the 
spring  of  1862  all  the  Confederate  troops  there 
assembled,  including  this  regiment  under  the 
command  of  General  Huger,  were  transferred  to 
the  command  of  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  on 
the  peninsula  between  the  York  and  the  James. 

The  brigade  of  which  the  Third  Alabama 
formed  a  part  was  hotly  engaged  in  the  battle  of 
Seven  Pines,  and  the  Third  bore  the  brunt  of  the 
fighting.  By  one  of  those  blundering  assaults  so 
common  in  the  early  stages  of  the  war  the  Colonel, 
Tenant  Lomax,  and  many  other  officers  and  men 
who  were  our  personal  friends  were  killed. 

Being  in  Richmond  in  June,  1862,  and  learning 
that  the  Third  Alabama  held  a  point  on  our  line 
where  it  crossed  the  nine-mile  road,  I  rode  down 
there  one  afternoon  to  look  after  a  number  of  old 
friends.  The  change  in  the  appearance  of  the 
camp  and  men  from  what  they  were  in  their 
princely  quarters  in  the  entrenched  camp  at 
Norfolk  was  sad  enough. 

McClellan's  army  was  at  that  time  east  and 
north  of  Richmond,  divided  by  the  Chickahominy. 
That  stream  runs  parallel  to  the  James,  about 
four  miles  north  of  the  City  of  Richmond.  The 
land  lying  between  the  two  streams  is  a  high 
plateau,  which  terminates  in  a  sharp  decline  into 
the  valley  of  the  Chickahominy.  Beyond  the 
Chickahominy  the  land  rises  again  into  a  series  of 
hills.  On  the  crest  of  one  of  those  hills  a  mile 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  77 

beyond  the  Chickahominy  stands  the  little  village 
of  Mechanics ville,  with  a  straight  broad  turnpike 
running  southward  from  it  across  the  stream  to 
Richmond,  five  miles  distant.  From  the  hills 
about  Mechanics  ville,  and  even  from  the  village 
itself,  the  spires  of  Richmond  are  plainly  visible. 
The  left  wing  of  McClellan's  army,  under  Generals 
Keyes  and  Heintzelman,  was  fortified  east  of 
Richmond  and  south  of  the  Chickahominy.  His 
right  wing,  under  Fitz  John  Porter,  crossed  the 
Chickahominy,  pressed  forward  beyond  the  left 
wing  and  occupied  Mechanics  ville,  facing  south 
ward.  The  hills  on  the  Richmond  side  of  the 
stream  were  strongly  fortified  by  the  Confederates, 
while  those  on  the  Mechanicsville  side  swarmed 
with  Federal  soldiery.  In  the  valley  between  the 
two  armies,  along  the  borders  of  the  sluggish 
stream,  was  a  heavily  wooded  swamp,  half  a  mile 
wide,  which  rendered  it  impossible  for  either  army 
to  attack  the  other  save  by  certain  bridges  and 
causeways  across  the  stream  located  at  long  dis 
tances  from  each  other.  But  the  opposing  forces 
were  plainly  visible  to  each  other  over  the  tree- 
tops  in  the  swamp,  and  the  distance  between  the 
crests  of  the  hills  does  not  exceed  a  mile  or  a  mile 
and  a  half.  The  combatants  frequently  engaged 
in  artillery  duels  from  these  hill  crests.  Attracted 
by  the  sounds  of  the  firing  as  I  was  returning 
from  my  visit  to  the  Alabama  regiment,  I  rode  with 
a  party  of  friends  to  Strawberry  Hill,  the  home 


78  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

of  a  Mr.  Edmunds,  and  witnessed  one  of  these 
beautiful  contests.  Our  battery  was  commanded 
by  the  late  Lindsay  Walker,  afterward  a  Brigadier- 
General  of  Artillery.  A  Federal  battery  of  six 
guns  was  in  position  upon  a  hill  to  the  west  of  the 
woods  at  Mechanicsville.  A  military  balloon  swung 
high  above  those  woods,  and  we  could  see  the 
signal  men  wig-wagging  the  effects  of  the  Federal 
shots.  The  men  serving  the  Union  guns  looked 
like  little  black  ants  moving  about  upon  the  hill 
side.  We  could  see  their  flags  planted  near  the 
battery.  While  no  infantry  supports  were  in 
sight,  the  numbers  of  men  watching  at  different 
points  were  sufficient  to  satisfy  anyone  that  there 
were  camps  a-plenty  behind  the  hills.  The 
Federal  guns  seemed  to  be  of  much  longer  range 
than  ours,  but  our  marksmanship  was  far  the  best. 
Their  rifled  shells  came  high  over  our  battery 
with  a  vicious  scream,  and  went  half  a  mile  or 
more  beyond,  while  our  shots  seldom  carried  over 
the  hilltops.  Several  of  our  shells  seemed  to 
burst  right  in  the  Federal  battery,  but,  so  far 
as  we  could  see,  hurt  nobody. 

A  large  party  of  Federals,  apparently  a  general 
officer  and  his  staff,  appeared  at  a  point  of  observa 
tion.  Walker  turned  one  of  his  guns  upon  them, 
and  the  shot  was  so  well  directed  that  our  men 
stood  on  the  breast  works  and  cheered  as  the 
party  galloped  away.  Another  discharge  of  Fed 
eral  shells  made  our  men  scramble  down  to  cover 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  79 

behind  the  embankment.  These  noisy  demon 
strations  were  harmless  as  a  rule,  but  they  were 
very  inspiring  to  youngsters  who  had  never  seen 
anything  of  war.  When  we  had  seen  enough  and 
were  about  to  start  for  home  we  had  another 
treat  in  store  for  us.  The  evening  was  fine  and 
the  noise  extraordinary,  which  had  combined  to 
bring  President  Davis  out  to  the  lines.  We  met 
him  and  his  staff  riding  on  horseback  as  we 
were  returning  to  the  city.  We  drew  up  and 
saluted  as  they  passed.  I  had  a  good  look  at  Mr. 
Davis.  He  was  a  striking  looking  man.  He 
was  well  mounted  and  sat  his  horse  well.  He 
was  thin  and  wiry  looking.  He  had  been  a 
gallant  officer  in  the  Mexican  War,  and  I  believe 
he  delighted  in  military  service  and  prided  himself 
upon  his  martial  appearance.  Who  were  with 
him  I  do  not  know.  I  did  not  then  know  and  in 
fact,  in  many  interviews  with  him  afterward,  never 
observed  that  Mr.  Davis  had  lost  the  sight  of  one 
of  his  eyes.  I  have  a  vague  remembrance  that 
his  handsome  always  courteous  young  secretary, 
Burton  Harrison,  was  of  the  party.  Those  were 
the  brave  and  hopeful  days  of  the  Confederacy, 
and  the  last  we  heard  of  him  that  day  was  the 
cheering  in  some  of  the  camps  which  he  was 
visiting. 

The  last  time  I  ever  saw  the  late  Dr.  Hunter 
McGuire,  Stonewall  Jackson's  Medical  Director 
and  warm  personal  friend,  he  told  me  an  incident 


8o  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

in  the  lives  of  Jackson  and  Davis  which  occurred 
about  this  time.  It  may  be  that  Dr.  McGuire 
has  told  it  in  some  of  his  own  writings.  If  so,  he 
has  doubtless  told  it  better  than  I  shall,  for  he 
was  a  charming  raconteur.  Our  friendship  ex 
tended  over  nearly  forty  years.  This  story  illus 
trates  the  characteristics  of  both  Mr.  Davis  and 
General  Jackson  so  thoroughly  that  I  shall  give 
it,  even  if  it  has  been  told  elsewhere,  regretting 
that  I  cannot  fix  the  precise  spot  at  which  the 
first  part  of  the  story  was  located. 

Doctor  McGuire  said  that  after  the  hardest 
fighting  at  the  first  battle  of  Manassas,  where 
Stonewall  Jackson  was  wounded  in  the  hand,  he 
was  bandaging  Jackson's  hand.  It  was  on  the 
porch  of  a  little  store  at  the  crossing  of  a  stream. 
From  my  knowledge  of  the  battlefield  I  think  it 
must  have  been  where  the  Sudley  road  crosses 
Young's  branch  near  the  Warrenton  pike.  At 
any  rate  the  tide  of  battle  had  then  turned  in 
favour  of  the  Confederates,  and  Jackson  had  taken 
time  to  have  his  wound  dressed.  About  the 
place  were  a  large  number  of  men  awaiting  their 
turn,  most  of  them  wounded,  some  of  them 
stragglers  no  doubt.  But  Jackson  knew  the 
situation  thoroughly  and  was  not  feeling  alarmed 
about  their  presence.  Just  then  a  horseman  in 
civilian's  dress,  greatly  excited,  dashed  up  and, 
reining  his  horse  in  the  stream,  rose  in  his  stirrups 
and  began  an  impassioned  appeal  to  the  men, 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  81 

begging  them  not  to  give  up  the  fight;  assuring 
them  that  they  were  not  whipped;  that  the 
enemy  was  in  retreat;  and  that  if  they  would  not 
act  like  cowards  and  cravens  victory  was  assured. 
He  then  proclaimed  himself  to  be  President 
Davis.  It  seems  that  Mr.  Davis,  having  arrived 
upon  the  field  and  hearing  of  the  reverses 
of  the  morning  but  not  of  our  subsequent  successes, 
had  dashed  forward  and,  seeing  this  throng  of 
apparent  stragglers,  was  seeking  to  rally  them 
and  induce  them  to  return  to  battle.  Doctor 
McGuire  said  that  neither  he  nor  General  Jackson 
had  ever  seen  Mr.  Davis  before,  and  that  he  had 
no  idea  who  he  was  until  he  announced  himself. 
But  he  made  that  announcement  too  late 
to  influence  General  Jackson's  action.  Upon 
hearing  Mr.  Davis's  outburst  Jackson  literally 
flung  aside  the  bandages  he  was  placing  on  his 
hand  and,  with  more  excitement  than  he  ever 
saw  him  show  before  or  afterward,  advanced 
quickly  toward  Davis  saying,  "What  is  all  this 
fuss  about?  These  men  are  not  cowards.  These 
men  are  not  deserters.  These  men  are  not 
stragglers.  They  are  my  men  and  are  mostly 
wounded.  We  are  not  hard  pressed.  We  have 
whipped  the  Yankees  and  the  fighting  is  over. 
Who  are  you,  sir?" 

"I  am  President  Davis,  sir.     Who  are  you?" 
"I  am  General  Jackson,  sir,"  said  Jackson,  now 
realising   the    situation    and    saluting.     Then   he 


82  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

calmly  returned  to  have  his  wound  dressed,  and 
Mr.  Davis  departed  for  some  other  part  of  the 
field.  Jackson  was  evidently  very  indignant  at 
the  imputation  cast  upon  his  men,  and  Mr.  Davis 
evidently  did  not  like  the  language  or  the  manner 
of  his  subordinate.  McGuire  said  that  in  all 
their  subsequent  intercourse  Jackson  never  alluded 
to  this  episode  but  once,  but  it  was  plain  to  him 
that  the  grim  old  Presbyterian  fighter  was  not  an 
admirer  of  Davis. 

Now  for  the  sequel.  McGuire  said  that  one 
night,  near  Malvern  Hill,  during  the  seven  days' 
battles,  General  Jackson  asked  him  to  accompany 
him  to  General  Lee's  headquarters.  He  had  no 
idea  what  the  occasion  was  to  be,  but  always 
liked  to  gratify  the  General.  Upon  arriving  at 
General  Lee's  headquarters  they  found  him  and 
General  Longstreet.  Lee,  Longstreet  and  Jackson 
soon  had  out  the  maps  and  were  conning  them 
together  most  fraternally,  discussing  the  best 
method  of  attack  on  the  morrow.  He  said 
Jackson  was  devoted  to  Lee  and  had  great  con 
fidence  in  Longstreet;  that  they  were  all  deeply 
interested  in  the  subject  they  were  discussing  and 
unreserved  in  their  exchange  of  thoughts  and 
suggestions.  He,  of  course,  took  no  part  in  the 
council,  but  felt  gratification  that  the  leaders  of 
our  army  were  so  harmonious.  Suddenly  a  com 
motion  was  heard  on  the  outside,  and  a  moment 
later  President  Davis  appeared  unannounced. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  83 

He  entered  smiling  and  said,  "  General  Lee,  you 
see  I  have  followed  you  up.  I  became  so  anxious 
that  I  could  not  remain  in  Richmond."  General 
Lee  greeted  him  cordially,  shook  his  hand  and 
bade  him  welcome.  Then  Mr.  Davis  shook  hands 
with  Longstreet,  whom  he  knew  well,  and  turned 
with  a  look  of  hesitation  to  General  Jackson, 
whom  he  did  not  seem  to  recognise.  "  Why,  Presi 
dent,"  said  General  Lee,  omitting  the  "Mister,"  a 
fact  which  McGuire  commented  upon,  "  Don't 
you  know  who  that  is?  That's  General  Jackson. 
That's  our  Stonewall."  The  President  evidently 
had  not  recognised  General  Jackson.  Jackson 
had  never  been  much  in  the  East  since  Manassas. 
After  Manassas  he  had  returned  to  the  valley  and 
actively  operated  there  until  he  was  moved  east 
by  General  Lee  to  co-operate  in  the  attack  on 
McClellan's  flank  about  ten  days  before  this 
meeting.  Moreover  he  was  not  such  an  imposing 
figure  that  men  thought  when  they  looked  at 
him  "this  must  be  a  hero."  On  the  contrary, 
he  was  anything  but  a  fancy  picture,  in  his  old 
slouch  hat  and  with  his  straggling  beard,  well- 
worn  coat,  rough  cow-skin,  muddy  boots,  and 
with  his  big  awkward  feet  and  hands.  When  he 
stood  up  he  looked  as  if  he  was  sprung  in  the 
knees.  Hearing  who  he  was,  Mr.  Davis 's  face  lit 
with  a  smile  of  enthusiasm,  imparted  by  the 
cordial  reference  of  General  Lee  to  Jackson's 
services,  and  apparently  would  have  shaken  his 


84  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

hand.  But  General  Jackson  drew  himself  up  into  the 
best  military  attitude  he  could  assume,  gave  him  a 
formal  military  salute,  and  stood  there  motionless, 
while  the  smile  died  out  on  the  face  of  Mr.  Davis. 

Evidently  General  Jackson  remembered  certain 
disagreeable  correspondence  which  had  at  one 
time  impelled  him  to  tender  his  resignation,  and 
we  may  be  sure  that  Mr.  Davis  did  not  misunder 
stand  his  frigidity.  Jackson  went  into  his  shell 
completely  after  Davis's  arrival,  and  took  no  part 
in  the  subsequent  discussions.  He  soon  withdrew, 
and  McGuire,  on  their  way  back  to  their  own 
quarters,  remarked  to  him,  "  General,  I  am 
surprised  that  you  and  Mr.  Davis  have  not  met 
before."  "  Never,"  was  the  laconic  reply.  Then, 
after  a  pause,  Jackson  added,  with  the  quiet 
chuckle  in  which  he  sometimes  indulged,  "  Except 
that  time  when  we  both  saw  him  at  Manassas." 

Soon  after  this  I  wrent  awray  to  the  great  Con 
federate  Military  School  at  Lexington,  and  never 
saw  President  Davis  again  until  the  latter  part  of 
May,  1864.  Then  he  was  my  hero,  and  I  was 
one  of  his  heroes.  The  Corps  of  Cadets  of  the 
Virginia  Military  Institute  was  called  upon  in 
emergency  to  serve  with  Breckinridge  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley.  Our  army  met  the  forces 
of  Seigel  May  15,  1864,  at  New  Market  in  Shenan 
doah,  and  we  gave  him  such  a  thorough  thrashing 
that  Grant  telegraphed  to  Washington  "  Seigel  is 
whipped  again." 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  85 

The  Cadet  Corps  greatly  distinguished  itself. 
We  lost  eight  killed  and  forty-six  wounded  out  of 
two  hundred  and  twenty-five  in  action,  in  a 
fight  of  about  four  hours'  duration. 

I  was  seventeen  years  and  four  months  old 
when  I  received  my  first  wound,  and  was  as 
proud  as  Napoleon  at  Austerlitz.  It  was  a 
slight  wound,  and  I  rejoined  the  command  in 
Staunton  on  its  march  up  the  valley.  We  were 
ordered  to  Richmond.  On  our  way  we  passed 
immediately  in  rear  of  Lee's  army,  moving 
parallel  to  Grant's.  When  we  stopped  at  Hanover 
Junction  we  could  hear  the  firing  along  the  line 
of  the  North  Anna  River,  and  our  train  was  sur 
rounded  by  Stonewall  Jackson's  old  division,  rest 
ing  at  mid-day,  on  its  march  to  confront  Grant's 
flank  movement  from  Spottsylvania  to  Cold  Har 
bour.  At  Richmond  we  were  put  in  camp  in  what 
was  then  known  as  Camp  Lee.  It  is  now  the  Ex 
position  grounds.  We  were  reviewed  on  the  Cap 
itol  Square  by  President  Davis,  the  Governor  of 
Virginia,  and  others.  Mr.  Davis  was  very  compli 
mentary  of  the  gallantry  of  the  Corps,  but  greatly 
deplored  the  necessity  of  putting  us  into  service. 
He  used  the  simile  that  putting  such  youths  into 
service  was  like  "  using  up  the  seed  corn  of  the 
Confederacy,"  and  it  was  widely  commented  on  in 
the  papers  North  and  South.  But  the  taste  of 
war  it  gave  us  made  many  of  us  resign  and  accept 
commissions  as  "  Drill  Masters,  with  the  pay  and 


86  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

emolument  of  2nd  Lieutenant  in  the  Provisional 
Army  of  the  Confederate  States."  That  is  rather 
a  high-sounding  office  for  so  small  an  employment, 
but  at  the  time  I  was  proud  of  it.  I  spent  the 
autumn  of  1864  in  southwest  Virginia  drilling 
reserve  regiments  composed  of  men  over  forty- 
five  and  boys  under  eighteen.  It  was  a  hard 
thing  to  make  men  old  enough  to  be  my  father 
and  boys  younger  than  myself  look  alike  and 
march  alike.  We  had  a  battle  at  the  Salt  Works 
with  Burbridge  that  November  and  repulsed  him 
handsomely.  Then  I  was  ordered  to  report  to 
Major  Boggs,  commanding  the  artillery  defences 
on  the  line  of  the  Richmond  and  Danville  Railroad 
from  Richmond  to  Danville.  I  was  his  adjutant. 
We  had  no  end  of  guns.  We  had  batteries  at 
Mattoax,  High  Bridge,  Staunton  River,  Danville, 
and  I  do  not  remember  how  many  other  points. 
I  think  there  were,  in  all,  at  these  numerous  points 
about  one  hundred  heavy  guns.  To  man  them 
we  had  about  one  hundred  men.  As  each  point 
on  the  line  was  threatened  we  concentrated  our 
men  there;  and  before  preparing  to  shoot  the 
enemy  we  had  to  clear  away  the  grass  from 
about  the  guns  and  clean  the  birds'  nests  out  of 
the  muzzles,  for  between  times  the  guns  took 
care  of  themselves.  I  had  several  opportunities, 
upon  visits  to  Richmond,  during  that  winter  to 
see  Mr.  Davis.  The  war  had  aged  him  very  much. 
I  remember  calling  upon  him  officially,  in  company 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  87 

with  my  father  upon  one  occasion,  to  see  him  about 
some  promotions  in  my  father's  brigade.  Mr. 
Davis  was  very  civil  and  kind,  but  seemed  to  me 
to  have  realized  then  that  our  struggle  could  only 
be  successful  by  a  miracle.  I  think  everybody 
believed  he  was  unselfishly  devoted  to  the  cause 
and  gave  him  credit  for  doing  the  best  he  knew 
how  for  our  success,  but  candour  compels  the 
statement  that  he  was  not  as  popular  as  he  might 
have  been,  and  that  such  faith  as  was  left  in  our 
success  pinned  itself  to  our  armies  in  the  field  and 
their  great  commanders.  General  Lee  was  adored 
by  our  people,  and,  notwithstanding  many  retreats 
and  failures,  the  people  of  the  South  believed  in  the 
greatness  and  capacity  of  General  Joseph  E. 
Johnston  as  second  only  to  Lee. 

President  Davis's  action  in  removing  General 
Johnston  before  Atlanta  was  deeply  resented  by 
the  Confederate  masses,  and,  while  everybody 
regarded  Hood  as  the  bravest  of  the  brave,  people 
did  not  believe  he  had  the  ability  to  command  the 
Southern  Army.  It  is  true  that  General  Johnston 
was  a  hard  man  to  deal  with ;  but  speaking  merely 
of  public  sentiment,  as  I  saw  it  and  heard  it, 
the  feeling  was  that  Mr.  Davis  was  not  only 
unfriendly  to  Johnston  but  that  he  was  surrounded 
by  an  old  army  clique  who  felt  the  same  way,  and 
that  he  was  influenced  by  them. 

Mr.  Davis  had  the  credit,  justly  or  unjustly,  of 
having  a  particular  set  of  favourites  and  advisers; 


88  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

of  not  having  the  faculty  of  taking  all  his  leaders 
into  his  confidence;  in  a  word,  of  not  being  a 
"mixer,"  as  Mr.  Lincoln  was;  of  esteeming  those 
who  were  in  his  particular  circle  too  highly  and 
underrating  the  capacity  and  the  influence  of 
those  not  in  his  coterie.  For  instance,  it  was  gener 
ally  believed  that  Mr.  Davis  set  too  high  an 
estimate  upon  General  Bragg  and  General  Hardee, 
and  that  he  was  too  prone  to  overlook  the  merits 
of  anybody  else  until  he  had  exhausted  every 
effort  to  secure  a  West-Pointer.  Then,  too,  among 
the  army  officers  themselves,  there  was  a  feeling 
that  he  had  brought  over  with  him  a  great  many 
old  prejudices,  inherited  from  the  long  standing 
feud  between  the  line  and  the  staff  which  arose 
when  he  was  Secretary  of  War.  Mr.  Davis  was 
by  his  first  marriage  son-in-law  of  General  Zachary 
Taylor.  It  may  not  be  generally  known  that 
there  was  considerable  jealousy  between  General 
Taylor  and  General  Winfield  Scott;  that  even 
in  the  time  of  Mr.  Davis 's  incumbency  of  the  War 
Office  the  conflict  between  the  Adjutant-General's 
Office  and  the  General  of  the  Army  arose;  and 
that  General  Lee  was  the  most  beloved  subordinate 
of  General  Scott.  The  conflict  continued  in  the 
United  States  Army  from  that  time  until  the 
creation  of  the  General  Staff.  It  was  so  flagrant 
when  General  Sherman  was  Commanding  General 
that  he  removed  his  headquarters  to  St.  Louis, 
and  we  all  remember  what  a  time  we  had  between 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  89 

Adjutant-General  Corbin  and  General  Miles  during 
the  Spanish  War. 

It  seems  amusing  that  the  same  controversy  was 
transferred  to  the  Confederacy,  and  that  the  es 
trangements  and  jealousies  begotten  by  it  should 
have  continued  to  be  felt  there.  Yet  it  was 
generally  believed  to  be  so.  Justly  or  unjustly, 
it  detracted  from  the  popularity  of  Mr.  Davis. 

The  next  occasion  upon  which  I  met  Mr.  Davis 
was  when  Richmond  was  evacuated.  My  station 
was  at  Clover,  a  depot  on  the  line  between  Rich 
mond  and  Danville.  In  another  book  I  have 
described  how  I  first  heard  of  the  evacuation  of 
the  city,  and  how  train  after  train  passed  by 
Clover  laden  with  the  debris  of  the  burning 
capitol.  Early  on  the  morning  of  Tuesday, 
April,  5th,  as  I  stood  upon  the  platform,  I  caught 
sight  of  my  brother-in-law,  Doctor  Garnett,  upon 
a  train.  Going  to  speak  to  him,  I  found  he  was 
with  President  Davis.  He  was  Mr.  Davis's  family 
physician.  Among  the  others  on  the  train  I 
only  recall  General  Bragg  and,  if  I  mistake  not, 
Colonel  Archer  Anderson  of  Richmond,  who 
was  in  some  way  connected  with  his  staff.  Mr. 
Davis  was  very  pale  and  weary  looking,  but  was 
exceedingly  gentle  and  gracious,  and  as  the  train 
moved  away  quickly  I  had  little  or  no  conversation 
with  him. 

Five  days  later  I  reported  to  him  in  Danville 
at  the  home  of  the  late  Major  William  T.  Sutherlin. 


9o  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

I  was  bearer  of  the  last  despatch  he  ever  received 
from  General  Lee.  In  another  book  I  have 
described  the  circumstances  under  which  I  was 
sent  in  to  communicate  with  General  Lee,  and  the 
trials  and  tribulations  of  that  trip.  Suffice  it  to 
say  here  that,  having  reached  General  Lee  and 
received  his  communication  at  Farmville,  I  rode 
back  to  Danville  and  delivered  my  despatches  to 
President  Davis  in  person.  It  was  the  first  com 
munication  he  had  received  from  General  Lee 
since  he  had  left  Richmond.  He  mentions  my 
visit  in  his  book.  A  number  of  the  members  of 
his  Cabinet  were  present  when  he  questioned  me 
concerning  the  location  and  condition  of  General 
Lee's  army.  I  knew  the  condition  of  the  army 
was  very  bad;  that  we  had  sustained  a  severe 
defeat  and  the  loss  of  many  prisoners  at  Sailors' 
Creek;  that  the  army  had  been  pressed  off  its 
proposed  line  of  retreat  by  the  route  of  the  Dan 
ville  railroad  and  was  retiring  along  the  Southside 
road  toward  Lynchburg;  and  that  the  cavalry  of 
the  enemy  was  already  considerably  ahead  of  it 
on  its  flank.  Pressed  for  my  own  convictions,  I  ex 
pressed  the  fear  that  it  must  surrender.  But  I  fear 
that  my  estimate  of  the  number  of  troops  remaining 
to  General  Lee  must  have  shaken  the  faith  of  Mr. 
Davis  in  my  other  statements,  for  I  thought  General 
Lee  still  had  30,000  men  left,  whereas  he  had  not 
many  more  than  that  when  he  left  Petersburg,  and 
when  he  surrendered  he  had  but  8,000  muskets. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  91 

I  shall  never  forget  the  courtesy  and  patience 
with  which  Mr.  Davis  conducted  his  examination 
of  me,  or  his  fatherly  interest  in  seeing  that  I 
was  fed  and  cared  for  when  he  learned  what  a 
trying  journey  I  had  made.  He  gave  me  return 
despatches  the  following  morning  and  I  started 
with  them  to  General  Lee,  but  I  never  delivered 
them,  for  upon  reaching  Halifax  Court  House  I 
heard  of  his  surrender  and  turned  southward  to 
Johnston's  army. 

The  next  time  I  saw  Mr.  Davis  was  under  very 
changed  conditions.  I  cannot  fix  the  exact  date 
in  my  memory,  and  it  is  not  sufficiently  important 
to  hunt  it  up.  During  the  war  all  my  father's 
household  effects  were  transferred  from  our  home 
at  Rolleston  to  Fortress  Monroe.  My  father 
would  not  take  any  step  to  obtain  their  restoration 
because  it  involved  taking  some  kind  of  oaths. 
Finally  the  War  Department  gave  an  order  for 
their  delivery  to  my  mother,  and  I  was  selected 
to  go  down  to  Fortress  Monroe  and  receive  them. 
Being  a  very  ardent  and  bumptious  young  rebel, 
when  I  arrived  at  Old  Point  I  registered  at  Phoebus's 
Hotel,  wrote  a  formal  letter  to  the  general  com 
manding  announcing  my  arrival,  and  asked  at 
what  hour  I  might  present  myself  and  my  orders, 
identify  my  property  and  receive  it.  At  that 
time  the  only  hotel  on  the  point  was  a  little 
building  about  forty  feet  square  and  two  stories 
high,  built  by  Harrison  Phoebus  and  called  the 


92  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

Hygeia,  after  the  old  Hygeia  which  had  been 
destroyed.  This  house  would  not  accommodate 
over  twrenty  people.  Phoebus  himself  was  express 
agent,  steamboat  agent  and  general  utility  man 
about  the  wharf,  and  lived  in  a  little  shack 
built  of  cracker  boxes  in  rear  of  his  hotel.  Many 
a  time  I  have  seen  him  catch  the  landing  rope  from 
the  steamers.  Afterward,  on  the  site  of  his  hotel 
and  house  he  built  a  splendid  hotel,  and  at  one 
time  had  a  net  profit  of  $150,000  a  year.  He  was 
a  prince  of  hosts  and  made  me  feel  at  home 
in  his  little  hotel  while  I  awaited  a  reply  from 
General  Hays,  the  Commandant.  Meanwhile,  in 
my  mind  I  had  been  figuring  out  how  formal  and 
dignified  the  interview  would  be  with  the  officer 
in  charge  of  my  property. 

Suddenly  the  door  was  flung  wide  open  and  a 
handsome  young  blond  officer,  dressed  in  the 
height  of  army  style,  stalked  in  with  a  free  and 
easy  air,  exclaiming  in  a  loud  voice,  "  Hello, 
Phoebus!  Is  there  a  young  chap  named  Wise 
somewhere  about  here?"  Phcebus  introduced  us. 
"  Hello  Wise!"  said  he.  "  Glad  to  see  you! 
Come  ahead,  let's  have  a  drink,  quick."  And 
before  I  could  catch  my  breath  he  had  me  by  the 
hand  and  was  dragging  me  to  the  bar  in  a  little 
side  room.  It  was  Lieutenant  Wallace  F.  Ran 
dolph  of  Philadelphia,  then  serving  on  General 
Hays's  staff.  The  gentleman  has  recently  been 
retired  with  rank  of  Major  General,  for  old  age. 


THIRTEEN  PRESIDENTS  93 

He  was  then  the  jolliest,  liveliest  soul  in  the  army, 
and  as  pretty  food  for  gunpowder  as  ever  my  eyes 
rested  upon.  It  was  the  beginning  of  a  life-long 
friendship,  and  in  Cuba  his  attachment  transferred 
itself  from  me  to  my  oldest  boy,  a  subaltern  under 
him,  and  about  the  age  dear  old  "Wally"  Ran 
dolph  was  when  we  first  met.  His  tongue  went 
on  like  a  policeman's  rattle.  "  Glad  to  see  you, 
Wise.  Know  all  about  you — first  thing  I  remem 
ber  was  seeing  the  whole  City  of  Philadelphia  in 
mourning  for  your  old  grandfather.  Say,  have 
another  drink.  No  ?  That's  strange !  Well,  come 
on.  'Old  Billy'  wants  you  to  come  straight  to 
the  house.  He  is  a  warm  admirer  of  your  father, 
and  Mrs.  Hays  knows  all  your  mother's  people. 
Can't  go?  Well,  I  guess  you  will.  This  is  no 
place  for  a  white  man  to  stay.  Don't  be  afraid 
you'll  leave  the  liquor  behind.  Old  Billy  loves 
it  as  well  as  anybody  and  has  a-plenty  of  it 
at  his  house.  Besides,  we  can  stop  on  the  way 
up  and  get  some  at  the  Officers'  Club.  Oh,  I 
don't  want  to  hear  any  more  of  that  talk.  Come 
on.  We'll  be  late  for  dinner.  Phoebus,  send 
Wise's  baggage  up  to  the  General's." 

Randolph  went  at  me  like  a  whirlwind,  and 
before  I  knew  it  I  was  accompanying  him,  in  spite 
of  all  protests,  to  become  the  guest  of  General 
Hays. 

He  was  a  charming  host  and  his  wife  a  lovely 
woman.  They  did  everything  to  make  my  stay 


94  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

pleasant.  General  Hays,  or  "Old  Billy,"  as 
everybody  called  him,  was  then  an  elderly  man, 
and  prior  to  the  Civil  War  had  been  an  ardent 
admirer  of  my  father  in  his  great  campaign  against 
Know-Nothingism.  I  was  astonished  to  hear  his 
familiarity  with  my  father's  career  and  speeches. 
In  the  Civil  War  General  Hays  commanded  the 
"  100  guns  "  on  Malvern  Hill,  with  which  McClellan 
held  Lee  in  check  and  covered  the  retirement  of 
the  Federal  army  to  Harrison's  landing.  The  old 
fellow  was  now  enjoying  the  otium  cum  dignitate 
of  peace  and  showed  the  effect  of  high  living. 
There  was  nothing  he  could  do  to  help  me  collect 
my  father's  things  that  was  omitted.  I  think  he 
would  have  given  me  a  piece  of  the  fort  if  I 
had  claimed  it.  And  as  for  Randolph,  he  was  the 
jolliest,  the  readiest,  the  most  willing  companion 
I  had  met  in  years. 

"Would  you  like  to  call  upon  Mr.  Davis?" 
said  the  General  the  following  morning.  Assured 
that  I  would,  he  told  me  I  might  do  so.  There 
were  no  formalities  about  it.  An  order  on  a 
visiting  card,  directing  all  sentinels  to  allow  me 
to  pass,  gave  me  access  to  the  quarters  where  Mr. 
Davis  lived.  He  occupied  at  that  time  a  suite 
of  casemate  rooms  on  the  southeast  face  of  the 
fort,  somewhere  near  to  the  flag-staff.  They 
are  quarters  which,  ever  since  I  have  known  the 
fort,  have  been  officers'  quarters. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.   Davis  were  both  there  then.     I 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  95 

visited  them  unaccompanied  by  anybody.  They 
were  a  little  surprised,  I  think,  at  seeing  a  Southern 
friend  come  up  so  boldly,  but  they  seemed  gratified 
also,  and  were  most  kind  in  their  welcome.  Mr. 
Davis  was  more  gracious  than  I  ever  saw  him. 
He  took  my  hand  between  both  of  his  and  smilingly 
said,  "  Why,  Captain,  I  am  delighted  to  see  you," 
and  I  checked  him  laughingly  by  replying,  "Ah, 
Mr.  President,  you  mock  me  with  a  title  you  never 
gave  me  when  you  might  have  done  so.  I  was 
only  a  lieutenant,  and  it's  too  late  now."  Both 
he  and  Mrs.  Davis  laughed  heartily  at  the  conceit, 
and  he  said,  "Well,  you  ought  to  have  been  a 
captain  anyhow." 

Then  we  had  a  real  good  heart-to-heart  old- 
fashioned  talk,  and  what  rejoiced  me  most  was 
the  prospect  that  he  was  soon  to  be  released. 
He  was  looking  remarkably  well,  and  his  only 
complaint  was  that  the  dampness  of  the  location 
inclined  him  to  rheumatism.  Soon  after  that  I 
think  his  quarters  were  changed  to  Carroll 
Hall.  But  everywhere  is  damp  in  Fortress 
Monroe. 

I  enjoyed  that  visit.  When  it  was  over  I  felt 
nearer  to  Mr.  Davis  and  appreciated  what  he  had 
done  and  suffered  for  the  Confederate  cause  more 
than  I  had  ever  done  before. 

I  am  sure  I  saw  him  when  he  came  to  Richmond 
afterward  and  Horace  Greeley  became  one  of  his 
bondsmen.  I  think  he  was  the  guest  of  Mr. 


96  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

Lyons,  but  I  have  no  distinct  recollection 
about  it. 

But  the  memory  of  Mr.  Davis  which  impresses 
me  as  much  as  any  other  is  of  his  visit  to  Richmond 
in  1875,  when  the  statue  of  Stonewall  Jackson  was 
unveiled.  That  was  a  most  memorable  occasion. 
Mr.  Davis  delivered  an  address  before  the  Society 
of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  the  night  after 
the  unveiling.  He  spoke  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present 
City  Hall  in  Richmond.  I  had  heard  much  of  his 
eloquence  but  had  never  heard  him  speak  but  once, 
and  then  under  very  favourable  circumstances. 
The  speech  he  delivered  in  1875  was  one  of  the 
very  best  and  one  of  the  most  eloquent  speeches 
I  ever  heard.  Moreover  it  was  in  singularly  good 
taste,  free  from  all  reproaches  or  bad  blood  or 
recrimination.  Reduced  to  its  last  analysis,  it 
said,  "God  knows  we  believed  we  were  right. 
We  did  everything  that  men  could  do  to  maintain 
our  convictions.  Our  times  are  in  His  hands. 
Let  us  accept  the  results  without  murmur.  But 
above  all,  let  us  never  cease  to  honour  and  maintain 
the  glory  of  our  dead." 

Say  what  anybody  wrill  about  Mr.  Davis,  his 
conduct  from  the  end  of  the  war  to  the  time  of 
his  death  was  irreproachable;  irreproachable,  too, 
under  strains  which  were  very  hard  to  bear. 
He  was  superbly  silent  under  reproaches  that 
were  unjust,  tantalising  and  oftentimes  ineffably 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  97 

mean.  It  distresses  me  to  this  day  whenever  I 
hear  anybody  speak  disparagingly  of  this  man, 
who  was  unquestionably  devoted  to  the  cause 
for  which  he  lived  and  died,  and  who  was  infinitely 
greater  than  his  traducers. 


ANDREW  JOHNSON 


V.— ANDREW  JOHNSON 

IF  anybody  had  told  me  during  the  gloomy, 
embittered,  humiliating  time  of  Andrew  Johnson's 
Presidency  that  he  would  "  dance  at  my  wedding  " 
I  am  sure  I  would  have  repelled  the  suggestion 
as  altogether  improbable  and  revolting.  Yet, 
while  Andrew  Johnson  did  not  dance,  nor  did  any 
body  else  dance  at  that  good  Presbyterian  function, 
he  was  there,  and  probably  the  most  conspicuous 
individual  present. 

The  older  people,  by  whom  I  was  surrounded  and 
from  whose  opinions  mine  were  formed,  were 
shocked  at  the  death  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  regarded 
it  as  a  dire  disaster  from  several  points  of  view. 
It  not  only  deprived  the  Southern  people  in  our 
hour  of  need  of  that  charity  and  desire  for  restored 
fraternity  which  they  were  already  beginning  to 
recognise  as  prominent  characteristics  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  but  it  embittered  the  Northern  people 
against  us  to  a  degree  that  they  never  felt  before. 
It  elevated  to  his  place,  amidst  this  excitement  and 
vindictiveness,  a  man  who  was  believed  by  every 
body  in  the  South  to  be  vengeful  by  nature  and  to 
cherish  a  life-long  grudge  against  that  class  of  South 
ern  people  which,  in  all  his  political  campaigns,  he 
had  never  failed  to  denounce  as  the  "  aristocracy." 

101 


102  RECOLLECTIONS  OP 

Mr.  Johnson's  very  remarkable  career  in  Ten 
nessee  was,  from  its  beginning,  based  upon  the 
strong,  fierce,  aggressive  appeal  to  what  he  was 
pleased  to  call  the  "  masses "  against  the  other 
elements  of  the  community  denominated  by  him 
as  the  "classes." 

The  Whig  party  of  Tennessee,  as  parties  were 
aligned  for  many  years  before  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  War,  was  not  only  strong  but,  as  far 
as  such  a  thing  may  be  in  a  democracy,  the  patri 
cian  organisation  of  the  State.  Under  the  leader 
ship  of  John  Bell  it  was  a  Union  party,  but  it  was 
exceedingly  conservative  upon  the  slavery  ques 
tion,  and  embraced  in  its  ranks  the  bulk  of  the 
property  owners  and  educated  classes  of  the 
State. 

It  was  indeed  the  highest  type  of  that  con 
servative  Federal  loyalty,  of  which  Henry  Clay 
in  his  day  was  the  idol  in  the  West.  Its  opponent 
was  the  party  of  Andrew  Jackson,  or  "  Old  Hick 
ory,"  as  he  was  universally  called  in  Tennessee; 
a  party  which  was  strong  and  oftentimes  victor 
ious.  But  the  personnel  of  General  Jackson's 
party  was  nothing  like  so  distinguished  as  that  of 
the  Whigs  of  Tennessee.  The  old  Whig  organisa 
tion,  under  the  leadership  of  Clay  and  Bell,  had 
a  contempt  for  the  democracy  and  looked  upon 
it  as  the  struggle  of  the  rabble  clamouring  against 
the  better  elements  of  society. 

Andrew  Jackson  was  in  his  day  unquestionably 


Photograph  by  Brady  &  Co. 

ANDREW  JOHNSON 

Tho  seventeenth  president  of  the  United  States  (1865-69) 


rr  - 
UNIVERSITY 

OF 

C 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  103 

one  of  the  greatest  politicians  this  country  ever 
produced,  and  he  possessed  a  hold  upon  the  imag 
ination  and  the  affections  of  the  masses  of  the 
people,  not  only  in  his  own  State  but  throughout 
the  whole  country,  which  no  other  man  has  ever 
had  unless  it  be  the  present  incumbent  of  the 
White  House.  His  following  came  from  the 
common  people,  who  believed  that  in  him  they 
saw  the  embodiment  of  their  ideas  of  real  democ 
racy.  They  believed  that  he  had  a  true  conception 
of  the  proper  relations  between  the  States  and 
Federal  Government.  They  were  captivated  by 
his  personal  courage,  his  military  prowess  and  his 
political  resourcefulness.  They  ridiculed  the  idea 
so  strongly  put  forth  by  his  opponents  that  he 
was  a  tyrant  and  a  despot  for  asserting  the  power 
of  the  Federal  Government  to  maintain  its  own 
authority,  and  they  had  an  abiding  faith  that  he 
loved  the  rights  of  the  common  people  and  the 
masses  too  sincerely  to  permit  those  rights  to  be 
infringed  upon  either  by  unwarranted  Federal 
usurpation  or  by  class  legislation  in  the  States. 
They  pinned  their  faith  to  Andrew  Jackson  as  the 
true  embodiment  of  a  Federal  Democrat.  As 
long  as  he  lived  he  was  almost  invincible  in  Tennes 
see.  After  the  death  of  General  Jackson,  however, 
the  State  of  Tennessee  for  some  time  lacked  a 
successor  to  him  on  the  Democratic  side  powerful 
enough  to  cope  with  the  stubborn  efforts  for  control 
never  relinquished  by  the  wealthy  and  powerful 


104  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

Whig  organisation  of  the  State.  Nobody  has  yet 
appeared  in  Tennessee  to  take  the  place  of  Andrew 
Jackson,  but  Andrew  Johnson  certainly  possessed 
some  very  virile  characteristics  and  made  a  deep 
impression  upon  his  time.  He  grew  up  an  obscure 
and  ignorant  boy  of  the  very  humblest,  and 
possibly  even  doubtful,  antecedents,  of  that  class 
of  people  known  in  the  South  as  "  poor  whites  " ;  he 
drifted  from  North  Carolina  into  Tennessee, 
where  his  youth  was  spent  in  the  little  village  of 
Greenville.  To  people  of  his  station  the  wealthy 
homes  of  the  Whigs  were  virtually  closed.  How 
they  lived,  what  their  homes  contained,  their 
social  point  of  view,  their  political  ideals,  were 
matters  about  which  people  of  his  class  were  even 
more  ignorant  than  were  the  negroes  themselves. 
The  latter  in  the  capacity  of  household  servants 
saw  and  heard  something  of  these  things,  while 
to  the  poor  whites  they  were  almost,  if  not  abso 
lutely,  unknown.  Johnson's  affiliation  with  the 
party  of  the  people,  as  Democracy  was  called,  was 
natural,  for  there  was  an  impassable  social  gulf 
between  him  and  the  aristocracy,  as  the  old 
Whig  nabobs  were  denominated.  He  doubtless 
regarded  them  as  a  proud,  disdainful  race  who 
looked  down  upon  him,  and  he  doubtless  thought 
that  their  views  of  political  administration  were 
all  tinged  by  motives  of  selfishness  rather  than  by 
any  interest  in  the  elevation  of  the  common  people 
or  kindliness  to  his  class.  It  was  this  feeling,  no 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  105 

doubt,  which  made  the  masses  of  the  poor  Southern 
whites  Democrats  in  those  days. 

Andrew  Johnson  began  life  as  a  tailor  in  the 
little  town  of  Greenville  in  East  Tennessee,  and  the 
story  of  his  ignorance  and  lack  of  advantages 
has  been  too  often  told  to  need  repetition  here. 
His  wife  actually  taught  him  to  read,  it  is  said. 
It  must  have  been  a  cheerless  and  unhappy  ex 
istence  if  he  was  ambitious,  for  the  task  of  sur 
mounting  the  difficulties  which  confronted  him 
must  have  seemed  almost  hopeless.  In  time,  how 
ever,  he  became  Town  Councilman,  Mayor,  Mem 
ber  of  the  Legislature,  Governor  and  Vice- President 
and  President.  During  the  time  of  his  boyhood 
there  lived  in  the  same  town  with  him  an  orphaned 
Virginia  boy,  of  about  his  own  age,  who  was  his 
very  opposite  in  his  social  antecedents.  His 
name  was  Hugh  Douglas,  and  he  was  what 
Walter  Scott  describes  as  "a  penniless  laird  wi' 
a  lang  pedigree."  His  grandfather,  William  Doug 
las,  a  cadet  of  the  house  of  Douglas  of  Garallan  in 
Ayrshire,  went  to  Virginia  one  hundred  years 
before  and  became  a  prominent  man  in  Loudoun 
County,  and  his  mother  was  a  Beverley,  connected 
with  all  the  old  Virginia  Byrds,  Elands,  Randolphs, 
Corbins  and  what  not.  Left  an  impoverished 
orphan  while  he  was  yet  a  small  boy,  he  had  been 
sent  to  a  paternal  aunt  in  Greenville,  and  was  a 
clerk  in  the  store  of  his  uncle,  who  was  one  of  the 
village  nabobs. 


ip6  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

Although  their  antecedents  were  so  different 
their  lonely  situation  was  much  the  same,  and  a 
warm  friendship  grew  up  between  Andy  Johnson 
and  Hugh  Douglas.  Many  a  day  they  met  and 
for  lack  of  other  employment  talked  politics 
together,  and,  although  one  was  a  disciple  of 
Clay  and  the  other  a  follower  of  Jackson,  these 
political  differences  never  interfered  with  their 
boyish  friendship. 

Andy  Johnson  made  for  Hugh  Douglas  the 
first  suit  of  man's  clothes  he  ever  wore.  As  they 
grew  up  their  lots  in  life  separated  them.  Young 
Douglas  was  energetic  and  successful  and  estab 
lished  a  business  of  his  own  in  a  distant  town. 
Young  Johnson  entered  upon  a  career  of  poli 
tics.  Both  prospered,  and  some  years  before  the 
war  Douglas  moved  to  Nashville  and  became  one 
of  the  merchant  princes  of  that  place.  John 
son  also  moved  to  Nashville,  having  become 
the  leader  of  the  Anti-Know-Nothing  party  in 
Tennessee,  and  was  elected  Governor  of  the 
State.  At  Nashville  their  boyish  friendship  was 
renewed  and  cemented.  Mr.  Douglas  made  it  a 
point  to  send  Mr.  Johnson  every  year  upon  his 
birthday  a  box  of  the  same  kind  of  the  old- 
fashioned  red  bandana  handkerchiefs  which  they 
had  both  used  when  they  were  boys  in  Greenville. 
Perhaps  no  act  of  kindness  which  he  ever  did,  and 
he  did  a  great  many,  ever  so  well  repaid  him,  for 
in  time  war  broke  out.  Douglas  was  a  Union  man, 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  107 

but  his  great  big  heart  was  so  generous  that  it 
went  out  in  sympathy  to  every  human  being  on 
this  earth  in  need,  so  he  helped  the  Confederate 
soldiers  with  unstinted  generosity  to  blankets  and 
to  every  comfort  of  any  kind  possessed  by  him. 
When  the  Union  troops  took  possession  of  Nash 
ville  certain  people  would  have  arrested  Mr. 
Douglas  and  would  have  confiscated  his  property 
and  subjected  him  to  all  the  penalties  of  the 
times,  as  one  who  had  given  aid  and  comfort  to 
rebels,  but  it  made  no  difference  with  Andrew 
Johnson.  He  knew  him,  knew  his  loyalty,  knew 
the  motives  which  had  prompted  his  charities  and 
covered  him  with  the  aegis  of  his  protection, 
brought  him  through  the  war  unmolested,  and 
even  after  it  was  over  gave  him  his  voluntary 
testimony,  whereby  Mr.  Douglas  was  enabled  to 
get  compensation  for  the  use  and  occupation  of 
his  property  by  Federal  troops ;  and  the  friendship 
between  the  two  lasted  and  was  warm  and  generous 
and  kindly  until  death  separated  them,  although 
it  was  hard  to  define  what  they  had  in  common 
unless  it  was  the  memory  of  the  cheerless  and 
common  struggles  of  their  boyhood. 

These  things  came  to  my  knowledge  in  later 
years,  when  I  married  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Douglas, 
but  they  were  unknown  to  me  when  the  war 
ended  and  while  Andrew  Johnson  was  President. 
Many  was  the  day  at  that  time  when  I  heard 
the  Confederate  feaders  bemoan  the  hard  fate 


io8  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

which  had  placed  them  at  the  mercy  of  Andrew 
Johnson.  He  had  given  utterance  to  his  re 
pugnance  to  them  on  many  public  occasions;  had 
declared  that  the  Southern  aristocracy  would 
stop  at  nothing  to  maintain  their  oligarchy;  that 
they  had  sought  to  destroy  the  Union,  and  had 
dragged  the  loyal  masses  of  the  South  into  seces 
sion  with  no  higher  motive  than  to  perpetuate 
their  slave  tyranny;  and  one  of  his  first  steps 
after  the  war  was  ended  was  to  issue  a  proclama 
tion  compelling  all  owners  of  property  of  the 
value  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  or  more  to 
make  special  application  to  him  for  pardon.  It 
was  believed  that  the  motive  of  this  requirement 
was  to  add  to  their  humiliation.  This  and  many 
other  things  prepared  the  Southern  people  to 
find  in  him  a  revengeful  and  vindictive  enemy. 

One  might  hear  in  any  gathering  of  Southern 
men  such  expressions  as  "  Expect  mercy  or 
kindness  from  Andrew  Johnson,  because  he  is  a 
Southern  man?  Bah!  He  hates  a  Southern  gen 
tleman  because  he  is  himself  a  'poor  white.'  He 
has  a  life-long  grudge  against  them.  He  is  a  sans 
culotte  who  would,  if  he  could,  erect  a  guillotine  and 
start  the  loaded  tumbrels  of  the  French  Revolution 
through  the  streets  in  Washington."  But  in  a 
short  while  Johnson  changed  his  whole  attitude 
toward  the  South — he  became  the  advocate  and 
champion  of  liberal  treatment  of  the  Southerners. 
This  was  when  he  had  become  embroiled  with  the 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  109 

Radical  leaders  in  Congress.  His  friendship  for 
the  South  then  was  more  injurious,  if  possible, 
than  his  former  enmity  had  been,  for  the  dominant 
Radicals  and  Stalwarts,  who  impeached  him,  took 
delight  in  harrowing  the  Southern  people  because 
he  announced  himself  as  opposed  to  that  policy. 
Notwithstanding  the  long  friendship  between 
Mr.  Johnson  and  Mr.  Douglas,  Mr.  Johnson  had 
never  entered  the  house  of  Mr.  Douglas  prior  to  the 
time  of  my  marriage.  The  real  reason  for  this 
the  ex- President  did  not  perhaps  know.  Mrs. 
Douglas  was  not  only  an  aristocrat  in  her  feelings 
but  was  a  very  religious  and  strict  Presbyterian. 
She  regarded  Andy  Johnson  as  the  prince  of 
vulgarians,  and  his  prominence  in  public  life  did  not 
in  the  least  affect  that  firm  and  fixed  opinion. 
Moreover,  he  was  reputed  to  be  a  drinking  man, 
which  fact  was  of  itself  sufficient  to  bar  him  from 
all  precincts  presided  over  by  her.  And  so  it  had 
come  about  that,  notwithstanding  many  adroit 
efforts  made  by  Mr.  Douglas  in  the  past  to  over 
come  her  prejudice  and  induce  her  to  permit  him 
to  entertain  Johnson,  she  had  until  now  stoutly 
resisted  and  rejected  every  overture.  Shortly 
before  my  marriage,  which  occurred  November 
3,  1869,  Mr.  Douglas  announced  to  me  confiden 
tially,  evidently  with  great  pride  and  satisfaction, 
that  President  Johnson  would  be  present  at  the 
ceremony.  How  he  overcame  the  scruples  of  his 
wife  I  never  learned,  but  at  the  appointed  time 


no  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

Mr.  Johnson  was  there.  It  would  have  amused 
anybody  who  knew  of  the  struggle  by  which  this 
had  been  brought  about  to  note  the  manner  of 
Mrs.  Douglas  toward  her  distinguished  guest. 
She  was  of  course  too  refined  to  be  rude  to  him 
in  her  own  house,  but  her  whole  bearing  was  that 
of  one  who,  while  she  had  allowed  him  to  appear, 
had  no  idea  of  permitting  him  to  become  too 
intimate,  and  who  was  apprehensive  all  the  time 
that  he  might  do  something  extraordinarily  terrible 
at  any  moment.  On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Douglas 
was  the  soul  of  genial  hospitality,  was  flattered 
at  the  compliment  of  Mr.  Johnson's  presence,  and 
did  everything  in  his  power  to  show  him  his  appre 
ciation. 

Certainly  nobody  could  have  been  more  courte 
ous  or  punctilious  or  have  borne  himself  with  more 
dignity  or  decorum  than  did  the  ex-President. 
He  had  a  dull,  stolid  face,  with  hard  cynical  lines 
about  the  mouth,  but  his  manners  were  excellent 
and  his  conversation  both  interesting  and  com 
plimentary.  To  my  surprise  he  gave,  as  the  chief 
reason  for  his  coming,  his  desire  to  do  honour  to 
my  father,  for  whom  he  expressed  great  admira 
tion.  He  explained  that  the  Anti-Know-Nothing 
campaign  in  Tennessee  had  followed  almost  im 
mediately  after  that  in  Virginia;  that  antici 
pating  its  coming  he  had  devoted  himself  studi 
ously  to  my  father's  campaign,  with  great  inter 
est  and  admiration,  and  that  he  had  to  a 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS 


in 


large  extent  modelled  his  own  campaign  upon 
that.  After  quite  a  lengthy  talk,  he  begged  me  to 
present  his  compliments  to  my  father  and  to 
assure  him  that  notwithstanding  all  the  interven 
ing  national  differences  he  still  had  no  warmer 
admirer  than  himself  for  his  brilliant  victory  in 
1855.  When  I  returned  to  Virginia  and  reported 
this  interview  to  my  father  I  think  he  heard  the 
account  somewhat  sheepishly,  for  to  my  certain 
knowledge  he  had  spent  about  four  years  of  his 
life,  devoting  about  an  hour  a  day,  to  denunciation 
of  Andy  Johnson ;  and  if  the  Recording  Angel  kept 
tab  upon  his  expletives  it  must  have  required  a 
special  detail  for  the  book-keeping  work,  and  the 
entries  must  have  filled  a  volume. 

My  next  sight  of  Mr.  Johnson  was  probably  a 
year  or  so  later,  shortly  before  his  death.  It  was 
soon  after  his  campaign  before  the  Tennessee 
Legislature  for  the  Senate.  At  that  time  his  habits 
had  become  exceedingly  dissipated,  and  one  of  his 
peculiarities  was  that  he  appeared  to  select  very 
young  men  as  his  companions  in  his  debauches. 
His  headquarters  were  at  the  Maxwell  House  at 
that  time.  A  band  serenaded  him  and  the  street 
was  thronged  with  an  immense  crowd,  cheering 
and  calling  loudly  for  a  speech.  After  a  long 
delay  the  ex-President  appeared  upon  the  hotel 
balcony  and  acknowledged  the  compliment,  but 
his  condition  was  such  that  he  was  totally  unable 
to  speak  coherently  and,  in  fact,  found  difficulty 


H2  THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS 

in  keeping  on  his  feet.  It  was  a  pitiful  sight  to 
see  him  standing  there,  holding  on  to  the  iron 
railing  in  front  of  him  and  swaying  back  and  forth, 
almost  inarticulate  with  drink.  With  him  at 
the  time  was  one  of  the  wittiest  and  most  impudent 
youngsters  I  ever  knew.  He  was  a  young  Virgin 
ian  who  had  gone  to  Nashville  to  practise  law 
and  had  become  the  boon  companion  and  intimate 
of  Mr.  Johnson.  He  was  himself  very  much  under 
the  influence  of  liquor,  and  feeling  that  somebody 
ought  to  speak  and  a  sort  of  responsibility  for  ex- 
President  Johnson,  he  began  an  address  which, 
with  its  wild  extravagance  and  maudlin  absurdity, 
convulsed  the  crowd  with  laughter  until  it  grew 
impatient  and  hooted  him  down.  It  was  a 
sight  I  shall  never  forget — the  bloated,  stupid, 
helpless  look  of  Mr.  Johnson,  as  he  was  hurried 
away  from  the  balcony  to  his  rooms  by  his  friends 
and  led  staggering  through  the  corridors  of  the 
Maxwell  House.  He  died  shortly  after  the  occur 
rence  just  related. 


ULYSSES  S.   GRANT 


VI.-ULYSSES   S.  GRANT 

ALTHOUGH  I  had  seen  General  Grant  at  a 
distance  on  numerous  occasions,  it  was  seven  or 
eight  years  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  before 
I  met  him  face  to  face,  and  then  it  was  in  a  most 
unusual  way.  Business  called  me  to  Long  Branch, 
where  I  saw  the  President  every  day  driving 
back  and  forth  upon  the  avenues.  On  my  way 
home  I  took  a  sleeper  in  Philadelphia.  It  was 
quite  late,  a  hot  night,  and  I  was  dirty.  I 
went  into  the  lavatory  of  the  sleeping  car,  removed 
my  coat  and  collar,  and  proceeded  to  give  myself 
a  good  scrubbing.  While  so  engaged,  a  quiet  man 
slipped  into  the  compartment  and  lit  a  cigar. 
No  one  else  was  present,  for  nearly  everybody  else 
on  the  car  was  asleep.  Ours  was  the  last  sleeper, 
and  next  to  it  was  an  excursion  car  filled  with  one 
of  the  noisiest  and  jolliest  of  crowds.  Men  and 
women  were  singing. 

"  My,  what  a  noisy  crowd,"  said  I.  "If  they  keep 
that  up  we  will  not  get  much  sleep."  The  remark 
was  made  in  the  free  and  easy  way  in  which  one 
traveller  addresses  another  upon  a  train,  and 
without  even  looking  closely  at  my  companion. 
"They  are  not  going  far,  I  think.  It  is  an  ex 
cursion  from  Wilmington,  I  believe.  I  like  to  see 


n6  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

them  happy,"  was  the  prompt  democratic  reply. 
Something  in  the  voice  or  manner  of  the  speaker 
made  me  pause  with  the  towel  in  my  hands  and 
turn  toward  him.  I  knew  the  face.  There  was 
no  mistaking  it.  It  was  that  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States.  He  was  sitting  there  alone, 
just  as  serene  and  devoid  of  self-consciousness  as 
any  Bill  Smith  or  Tom  Jones  in  all  America.  I 
looked  at  him  incredulously,  and  he  returned  my 
glance  steadily.  "I  beg  your  pardon,"  I  stam 
mered  forth.  "  But — is  this— General — President 
Grant?"  He  nodded  assent.  "  Again,  I  beg 
your  pardon,  Mr.  President.  When  I  addressed 
you  so  familiarly  I  had  no  idea  who  you  were. 
In  fact,  sir,  one  would  not  expect  to  meet— 
"That's  all  right,"  said  he.  "Don't  explain  it. 
Glad  to  see  you.  I  like  a  cigar  before  retiring, 
and  slipped  in  here  to  have  a  smoke. ' '  I  introduced 
myself.  He  asked  me  who  I  was  and,  when  I  told 
him,  said  he  knew  all  about  my  people.  Then  he 
was  wide  awake.  He  began  to  ask  me  all  sorts 
of  questions.  Inquired  if  our  people  were  getting 
along  all  right  now.  Asked  if  we  were  satisfied 
with  the  results  of  the  war.  Asked  about  certain 
people  he  knew.  Said  he  hoped  the  Southern 
people  would  accept  the  results.  Among  other 
things,  I  remember  one  expression  which  came 
unconnected  with  anything  that  preceded  it. 
It  was — "The  South eni  newspapers  have  done 
more  harm  than  any  other  influence."  People 


ULYSSES  S.  GRANT 
The  eighteenth  president  of  the  United  States  (1869  76). 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  117 

have  often  said  General  Grant  was  a  taciturn  man. 
I  never  found  him  so.  He  always  talked  to  me, 
and  he  always  seemed  to  delight  in  putting  ques 
tions  as  fast  as  he  could  ask  them.  I  was  im 
mensely  flattered,  for  I  was  not  over  twenty-four 
of  twenty-five  years  of  age.  He  said,  among  other 
things,  "  I  like  to  hear  what  people  like  you  think." 
Then  he  added,  "Did  you  like  army  life?"  "I 
loved  it.  My  heart  was  broken  when  I  lost  my  job, 
General,"  I  replied,  laughingly.  "I  wish  we  had 
a  lot  of  you  young  fellows  in  the  service  now. 
I  believe  it  would  be  a  great  thing  for  restored 
fraternity,"  said  he.  Then  he  added,  "But 
public  sentiment  is  not  ready  for  it  yet." 

"What  are  you  doing  for  a  living?" 

"Practising  law." 

"Like  it?" 

"  Yes,  sir,  but  it  is  not  as  good  fun  as  fighting." 

And  the  President  laughed,  although  they  say 
he  was  not  much  given  to  it. 

I  think  we  had  passed  Havre  de  Grace  when 
our  real  friendly  private,  almost  intimate,  talk  was 
ended.  I  would  have  remained  all  night  with  him 
if  he  had  permitted  me,  for  he  fascinated  me.  But 
he  had  had  enough  of  me  and  arose,  saying, 
"Good  night,  I'm  glad  I  met  you.  You  must 
come  to  see  me  some  time  when  you  visit  Wash 
ington."  He  did  not  say  "I  like  you,"  but  I 
thought  he  did,  and  he  showed  it  in  many  ways, 
on  many  occasions,  afterward.  And  I  liked  him. 


n8  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

He  was  one  of  the  simplest,  most  genuine,  direct 
and  manly  men  I  ever  saw. 

About  three  weeks  afterward  I  went  into  the 
United  States  Court  in  Richmond  to  attend  to 
some  business.  A  jury  trial  was  in  progress 
before  Judge  Underwood.  He  beckoned  to  me 
to  come  up  and  take  a  seat  beside  him,  as  judges 
do  when  they  want  to  talk  with  lawyers.  Lean 
ing  over  to  me  he  said,  in  his  slow,  drawling  way, 
"  I  was  in  Washington  a  few  days  ago  and  saw 
the  President.  He  was  asking  [me  about  you. 
Told  me  he  met  you  on  a  train.  You  ought 
to  go  to  see  him  some  time  when  you  are  there. 
He  likes  you."  I  thanked  him  and  was,  of 
course,  most  gratified.  I  wish  I  had  had  the 
manhood  to  vote  for  Grant  in  1872,  but  I  did 
not.  Prejudice  was  so  strong  I  could  not  brave 
it.  But  I  would  not  vote  for  Greeley.  I  simply 
sneaked  and  stayed  away  from  the  polls.  Went 
hunting!  The  old  trick. 

After  the  interview  referred  to  I  went  to  see 
General  Grant,  and  he  was  very  civil  to  me.  It 
must  have  been  several  years  later  that  I  had  an 
amusing  experience  with  him.  It  was  during  his 
second  term,  when  the  prosecutions  were  going  on 
all  over  the  country  against  the  distillers  and 
rectifiers.  I  was  employed  to  defend  a  man  who 
had  been  a  large  rectifier  in  Petersburg,  and  who  was 
charged  with  extensive  frauds  upon  the  revenue. 
He  was  indicted,  and  the  distillery  was  libeled  in 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  119 

the  United  States  Circuit  Court.  I  was  retained 
in  both  the  civil  and  criminal  cases.  Judge 
Lunsford  L.  Lewis  was  United  States  Attorney. 
My  poor  old  client  was  no  doubt  guilty.  He  was 
of  the  class,  quite  prevalent  in  those  days,  that 
believed  it  was  fair  to  cheat  the  Government. 
But  a  better  hearted  creature  never  lived.  He 
had  been  a  good  soldier,  and  had  but  lately 
married  an  excellent  wife  and  had  a  young  child. 
We  had  about  five  or  six  trials,  and  as  many 
hung  juries.  The  Government  had  gone  to  great 
expense  preparing  for  the  trial.  First  we  would 
try  the  criminal  charge,  and  have  a  hung  jury. 
Then  we  would  shift  to  a  trial  of  the  libel 
against  the  distillery,  with  like  result.  Lewis 
was  pertinacious  in  his  prosecution,  feeling  sure 
of  the  man's  guilt;  and  my  whole  soul  was 
concentrated  upon  his  defence.  The  evidence 
was  substantially  the  same  in  both  cases.  Now, 
the  rule  of  law  in  a  criminal  case  against  a  man  is 
that  the  evidence,  in  order  to  convict  him,  should 
preponderate  in  favour  of  his  guilt  beyond  a 
reasonable  doubt;  while  in  a  proceeding  in  rent 
to  forfeit  a  distillery  it  is  only  necessary  to  estab 
lish  the  charge  by  a  preponderance  of  evidence. 
But  in  the  first  three  or  four  trials  I  succeeded  in 
securing  hung  juries  whether  Lewis  elected  to  try 
the  indictment  against  the  man  or  the  libel  against 
the  distillery.  At  last  I  came  to  grief.  The 
early  trials  were  before  Judge  Hughes,  the  District 


120  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

Judge,  but  at  last,  when  the  trial  of  the  man  on 
the  indictment  came  on  for  the  second  or  third 
time,  Judge  Hugh  L.  Bond,  the  Circuit  Judge, 
was  on  the  bench.  Bond  was  an  able  man  but 
no  student,  and  while  he  was  a  good  fellow  in 
private  life  he  was  one  of  the  worst  bullies  and 
most  relentless  judges  I  ever  practised  before. 
He  was  impatient  of  delays,  imperious  in  his 
rulings  and  merciless  in  his  instructions  against  a 
prisoner  \vhen  he  chose  to  be.  He  made  short 
shrift  of  my  client  and  myself.  He  wanted 
to  leave  for  his  home  in  Baltimore.  I  saved 
points  and  asked  many  instructions.  Bond, 
when  it  came  to  instructions,  blurted  right  out 
to  the  jury  that  the  man  was  guilty,  the  evidence 
sufficient,  and  that  they  ought  to  bring  in  a 
verdict  of  conviction.  They  did  so.  My  client, 
who  was  a  man  of  respectable  antecedents,  was 
horrified  when  Bond  proceeded  to  sentence  him 
to  four  years  in  Auburn  Penitentiary  in  New  York. 
The  scene  in  Court  \vhcn  that  poor  old  fellow  was 
sentenced  was  one  of  the  most  pathetic  experi 
ences  of  my  practice,  but  it  made  no  impression 
on  Judge  Bond.  I  promptly  ordered  a  copy 
of  the  record  and  prepared  to  fight. 

Then  Bond  left  and  Judge  Hughes  continued 
to  try  cases  at  the  term.  The  Government 
pressed  the  libel  suit  to  forfeit  the  distillery.  I 
went  into  that  case  with  fear  and  trembling.  Btit 
the  reader  may  imagine  my  delight  at  the  end 


THIRTEEN  PRESIDENTS  121 

of  a  wearying  trial,  on  the  same  evidence  upon 
which  the  prisoner  had  been  convicted,  when  the 
jury,  after  a  long  retirement,  brought  in  a  verdict 
acquitting  the  distillery. 

Thus,  on  the  same  facts,  one  jury  found  a  man 
guilty  beyond  reasonable  doubt,  and  another 
held  that  the  evidence  did  not  even  preponderate 
in  favour  of  the  Government.  It  was  an  amusing 
result  to  everybody  but  my  poor  old  client,  who 
was  under  sentence.  On  this  state  of  facts  I 
resolved  to  waste  no  time  on  attempted  appeals, 
but  to  take  both  records  to  Washington,  to  show 
that  there  must  be  a  reasonable  doubt  about 
his  guilt  and  base  my  appeal  for  executive  clemency 
upon  that  palpable  fact.  Accordingly,  armed 
with  both  records,  I  repaired  to  Washington, 
having  first  secured  a  stay  of  execution  which 
detained  my  client  in  Richmond  until  his  fate 
was  settled.  Repairing  to  the  White  House, 
armed  with  the  two  great  rolls  of  record,  I  was 
admitted,  after  a  long  delay,  into  the  President's 
office.  He  was  cordial  as  usual  and  made  me  feel 
at  home.  "What  have  you  there?"  he  asked, 
looking  at  my  records  with  evident  concern.  I 
told  him  briefly.  Concluding,  I  said:  "Mr.  Presi 
dent,  the  Judge,  in  the  trial  of  my  client,  ran  away 
with  the  jury,  bullied  me  and  bullied  them,  and 
prejudiced  my  client.  Both  cases  show  the  same 
facts.  In  one  case,  where  only  a  preponderance 
of  evidence  was  required,  a  jury  acquitted.  Yet 


122  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

in  the  other,  requiring  proof  beyond  a  reasonable 
doubt,  the  Court,  on  the  same  testimony,  forced 
the  jury  to  convict.  Now  does  not  that  look  like 
a  case  of  reasonable  doubt?  Does  it  not  look  as 
if  the  Judge  prejudiced  the  jury  against  the 
prisoner?" 

The  President  had  begun  to  write.  He  paused, 
looked  up,  and  his  eye  twinkled  with  merriment. 
44  Does  look  that  way,"  said  he,  "  unless— unless— 
unless  there  was  prejudice  in  favour  of  the  dis 
tillery!  "  Finishing  the  writing,  he  handed  it  to  me, 
addressed  to  Judge  Gray,  the  officer  in  charge  of 
Pardons  in  the  Department  of  Justice.  It  simply 
said,  "  Dear  Judge — Young  Mr.  Wise,  bearer  of 
this,  is  a  friend  of  mine.  Do  what  you  can  for  him." 

When  I  reached  the  Department  I  found  that 
Judge  Bond  had  anticipated  my  coming  and 
written  a  violent  protest  to  the  President  against 
any  clemency  to  my  client.  Judge  Gray  and  I 
read  the  letter  of  Judge  Bond,  and  I  feared  it  was 
going  to  have  a  damaging  effect,  but  he  said, 
"We  all  know  Bond!"  About  two  weeks  later 
the  pardon  came,  and  Judge  Gray  and  I  were 
sworn  friends  as  long  as  he  lived. 

The  last  time  I  ever  saw  General  Grant  was  in 
New  York.  I  was  visiting  the  city  negotiating 
for  a  large  amount  of  money.  He  was  then  in  the 
firm  of  Grant  &  Ward.  I  was  awaiting  a  down- town 
train  at  the  Twenty-third  Street  elevated  station. 
He  came  up  the  steps  and  recognised  me  at  once. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  123 

It  was  near  mid-day  and  the  cars  were  not  crowded, 
so  that  we  took  seats  together.  He  was  looking 
badly.  Learning  that  I  was  interested  in  nego 
tiating  a  large  loan,  he  told  me  that  possibly  his 
firm  might  handle  the  matter  and  gave  me  the 
card  of  Ferdinand  Ward,  with  the  words  written 
on  the  back,  "  Introducing  Mr.  Wise,  my  friend. 
U.  S.  G."  I  called  upon  Ward,  whose  office  was 
somewhere  about  where  the  Manhattan  Life 
Building  now  stands.  I  was  very  much  repelled 
by  the  man's  appearance.  He  sent  me  to  see 
James  D.  Fish  at  the  Marine  Bank.  Mr.  Fish 
gave  me  valuable  employment  in  a  matter 
pertaining  to  a  life  insurance  company  of  which 
he  was  receiver,  but  nothing  was  done  in  the 
original  business  about  which  Ward  had  sent  me 
to  see  him.  Poor  old  Fish  was  a  kind-hearted, 
jolly,  companionable  man,  and  I  deeply  regretted 
his  subsequent  troubles. 

Shortly  before  the  death  of  my  father  business 
took  him  to  Washington,  and  he  called  upon  Presi 
dent  Grant,  whom  he  had  never  met.  He  was 
much  impressed  by  Grant's  accurate  knowledge 
and  power  of  clear  statement.  It  was  soon 
after  the  great  Chicago  fire,  and  I  remember  his 
vivid  recital  of  President  Grant's  description  of 
the  origin,  cause,  nature,  progress  and  results 
of  the  conflagration.  President  and  Mrs.  Grant 
both  showed  him  marked  attention.  During  my 
father's  long  service  in  Congress  he  had  much  to 


124  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

do  with  the  army  folk  and  in  some  way  had  been 
kind  to  the  Dents,  and  Grant  himself  had  been 
deeply  interested  in  the  Anti-Know-Nothing  cam 
paign  and  had  read  his  speeches  and  followed  his 
career  with  great  interest.  It  seems  that  on  the 
occasion  of  his  visit  my  father  presented  the 
President  with  an  old  ring  set  with  a  fragment  of 
the  Liberty  Bell  in  Independence  Hall,  Phila 
delphia.  If  I  ever  heard  of  the  fact  I  had 
forgotten  it  until  it  was  recalled  lately  by  a 
gratifying  episode  following  the  death  of  Mrs. 
Grant.  The  dear  old  lady  was  fond  of  West 
Point.  On  the  occasion  of  one  of  her  many 
visits  there  she  met  my  eldest  son,  Cadet  (now 
Captain)  Hugh  Douglas  Wise,  and  became  much 
interested  in  the  little  fellow.  Whenever  she 
went  to  the  post  she  always  inquired  for  him,  and 
often  sent  for  him  to  visit  her.  After  her  death 
her  son,  General  Frederick  Dent  Grant,  wrote  to 
my  son  and  told  him  that  among  his  mother's 
effects  he  had  found  the  ring  above  referred  to  with 
a  tag  attached  to  it  on  which  was  written,  ''This 
ring  was  presented  to  my  husband  by  the  late 
Governor  Wise,  and  I  wish  it  given,  after  my 
death,  to  Captain  Wise."  My  son,  knowing  that 
I  was  frequently  called  Captain,  suggested  to 
General  Fred.  Grant  that  she  probably  referred  to 
me,  but  General  Grant  knew  better  and  sent  it  to 
him,  saying  she  intended  it  for  her  cadet  friend, 
and  so  my  son  is  now  its  possessor. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  125 

In  a  rather  free  talk  I  once  had  with  President 
Grant  about  the  Confederate  leaders,  he  expressed 
feelings  of  the  greatest  kindness,  admiration  and 
almost  affection  for  General  Lee.  I  remember  his 
saying  that  if  everybody  had  borne  themselves 
after  the  war  as  General  Lee  did  it  would  have 
saved  a  world  of  trouble.  I  tried  to  draw  him  out 
into  some  expression  of  opinion  concerning  the 
relative  merits  of  the  Confederate  commanders, 
but  he  gave  no  definite  response.  He  did,  how 
ever,  express  such  a  high  opinion  of  the  general 
ship  and  abilities  of  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston 
and  recurred  to  that  opinion  so  often  that,  without 
his  having  said  so,  I  have  ever  since  entertained 
the  notion  that  General  Grant  thought  him  the 
greatest  Confederate  commander.  And  other  prom 
inent  Northern  soldiers  have  said  so  to  me  posi 
tively.  Without  claiming  to  be  a  competent 
military  critic  or  qualified  judge,  I  must  say  that 
for  the  life  of  me  I  have  never  been  able  to  under 
stand  the  reasoning  upon  which  such  an  opinion 
is  based.  For  a  long  time  I  seriously  was  inclined 
to  think  Grant  the  greatest  soldier  of  the  war, 
notwithstanding  all  my  prejudices  in  favour  of 
Lee;  but,  after  a  careful  study  of  Lee's  campaigns, 
especially  his  last  grand  campaign  which  began 
when  Grant  crossed  the  Rappahannock,  May  4, 
1864,  and  ended  at  Appomattox,  I  believe  Lee 
was  the  greatest  soldier  of  the  war.  Nobody  else 
fought  a  more  brilliant  battle  than  Second  Manas- 


i26  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

sas.  Nobody  did  anything  as  astounding  as 
Chancellorsville,  and  the  Wilderness  campaign, 
in  which  Lee  with  but  60,000  men  met  120,000 
men  under  Grant  and  in  thirty-eight  days  disabled 
55,995  of  his  enemy,  without  allowing  that  enemy 
to  gain  any  substantial  advantage,  ranks  Lee,  in 
my  opinion,  as  one  of  the  greatest  of  military 
leaders.  My  authorities  are:  Rhodes,  the  His 
torian  (Vol.  IV.),  a  Northern  man,  and  the 
Official  Records.  I  believe  that  history  will 
rank  Lee  as  the  greatest  soldier  of  the  Civil  War, 
and  in  coming  to  that  conclusion  I  have  certainly 
tried,  however  I  may  have  failed,  to  be  non- 
partisan.  General  Grant  also  had  a  high  opinion 
of  Stonewall  Jackson.  I  had  been  a  cadet  at  the 
school  where  Jackson  was  a  professor,  and  the  cadet 
corps  of  which  I  was  a  member  buried  Jackson. 
Grant  was  deeply  interested  in  the  incidents  of 
Jackson's  private  life  and  the  story  of  his  idiosyn 
crasies  which  I  knew.  Everybody  knows,  of 
course,  how  much  he  was  attached  to  Longstreet. 

I  cannot  close  these  rambling  reminiscences  of 
General  Grant  without  telling  one  other,  because 
it  is  so  illustrative  of  the  wonderful  change  in  his 
private  fortunes  brought  about  by  the  war. 

Soon   after  the  war  ended   an   elderly   United 

States  Army  surgeon  was  stationed  in  Richmond. 

In  the  old  service  he  had  been  an  intimate  friend 

of  an  old  friend  and  neighbour  of  ours,  Colonel 

Doctor   often   visited    Colonel   


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  127 

socially,  and  one  evening  I  happened  to  be  at 
the  house  of  Colonel  when  Doctor 

called.  Their  conversation  fell  upon  old  times, 
and  Colonel  -  -  asked  Doctor  -  -  if  he  knew 
Grant  in  the  old  service. 

"Yes,  indeed,"  replied  the  doctor,  "I  knew 
him  in  Mexico  when  he  was  a  young  sub.  and  I 
assistant  surgeon.  And  he  was  a  good  fellow. 
I  lost  sight  of  him  for  some  time,  and  my  next 
meeting  with  him  was  under  peculiar  circum 
stances." 

The  doctor  hesitated  a  moment,  drew  out  his 
pocketbook,  fumbled  in  a  side  pocket  of  the  book 
and  brought  forth  a  faded  I.  O.  U.  for  $20  signed 
by  Grant  and  dated  in  the  fall  of  1860.  He  passed 

it  to  Colonel and  myself,  and  after  we  had 

inspected  it  critically  we  returned  it  to  him.  See 
ing  by  pur  expression  that  our  curiosity  was 
excited,  he  proceeded: 

"  In  the  autumn  of  1860  I  was  standing  on  the 
steps  of  the  Astor  House,  New  York.  A  man 
approached  and  addressed  me.  I  did  not  recog 
nise  him,  and  he  relieved  me  by  saying,  'You 
don't  remember  me.  I'm  Grant,  formerly  of 
the .  Knew  you  in  Mexico,'  etc. 

"I  recognised  him  at  once.  'Doctor/  said  he, 
going  straight  to  his  point,  '  I  came  here  to  meet 
some  people,  hoping  to  secure  employment.  It 
failed.  It  depressed  me.  I've  spent  every  dollar 
I  had.  Dead  broke.  Want  money  enough  to 


128  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

get  home.  Can  you  help  me  ?  Twenty  dollars  will 
do/  "  and  the  doctor,  laughing,  said,"  And  he  looked 
his  part.  There  was  no  mistaking  that  he  was  tell 
ing  the  truth.  I  lent  him  the  twenty  dollars  and 
he  stepped  to  the  desk  and  wrote  this  note.  I  never 
saw  him  again  until  he  was  a  general  in  the  army." 

"  Did  you  try  to  collect  it? "  laughed  the  colonel. 

"No,"  said  the  doctor.  "It  is  the  best  invest 
ment  I  ever  made.  Grant  doubtless  forgot  in  the 
multiplicity  of  his  cares  the  detail  of  the  twenty 
dollars,  but  he  never  did  forget  that  in  his  time  of 
trouble  I  was  his  friend,  nor  has  he  ever  forgotten 
to  be  my  friend.  I  do  not  believe  there  is  anything 
in  reason  which  I  might  ask  of  him  that  he  would 
not  do  for  me.  Whenever  I  see  him  he  greets  me 
with  the  utmost  cordiality  and  shows  his  apprecia 
tion  of  old  friendship,  even  though  he  may  have 
forgotten  the  details  of  the  origin  of  the  feeling." 

Grant  always  seemed  to  feel  the  liveliest  interest 
in  our  old  soldiers.  I  remember  telling  him  on 
one  occasion  that  somehow,  since  General  Lee's 
death,  the  orphaned  Confederates  seemed  to  feel 
that  the  duty  of  being  kind  to  them  and  looking 
after  their  interests  had  devolved  on  him.  His 
eye  brightened  with  gratification,  and  he  said 
something  to  the  effect  that  the  feeling,  curious 
as  it  might  seem,  was  more  or  less  reciprocal,  and 
that  they  held  a  place  in  his  regard  second  only 
to  that  he  felt  for  his  own  men.  "  Curious  sort  of 
feeling,  isn't  it?"  said  he  musingly. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  129 

He  also  had  a  soft  spot  in  his  heart  for  Colonel 
John  S.  Mosby,  the  Confederate  guerilla,  and 
Mosby  was  devoted  to  him. 

No  man  could  be  thrown  for  any  length  of  time 
with  Grant  without  admiring  and  respecting  him. 
He  was  with  all  his  abilities  one  of  the  simplest, 
most  confiding  and  trustful  of  men. 

The  greatest  mistake  the  Southern  people  ever 
made  was  in  not  realising  that  if  they  had  per 
mitted  him  he  would  have  been  the  best  friend 
they  had  after  the  war. 


RUTHERFORD   B.  HAYES 


VII.-RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES 

THE  first  time  I  recall  hearing  the  name  of 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes  was  one  morning,  during 
Grant's  second  term,  when  the  greenback  excite 
ment  was  at  its  height  in  Ohio.  My  father 
appeared  with  a  newspaper  containing  a  speech 
made  by  Mr.  Hayes  on  the  currency  question  at 
Fremont,  Ohio,  which  he  pronounced  to  be  the 
ablest  presentation  of  the  subject  he  had  seen  for 
many  years.  It  made  an  impression  upon  me 
and  I  read  it,  deriving  great  instruction  from  it; 
instruction  which  unquestionably  influenced  my 
views  in  favour  of  the  gold  basis  from  that  time 
forth.  The  year  of  Hayes's  nomination  was  the 
year  of  the  great  Centennial  in  Philadelphia. 

The  Republican  National  Convention  which 
nominated  Hayes  was  chiefly  noted  for  the  perti 
nacity  with  which  the  friends  of  President  Grant 
sought  to  name  him  for  a  third  term.  Hayes  was 
the  outcome  of  a  long  struggle.  The  Democrats 
nominated  Tilden.  I  took  no  part  in  politics  and 
felt  very  little  interest  in  them.  My  political 
views  were  largely  derived  from  the  opinions  and 
prejudices  of  my  father,  but  he  was  on  his  death 
bed,  and  I  was  absorbed  in  attention  to  our  prac 
tice.  He  was  senior  partner  and  I  junior,  and 

I33 


i34  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

what  little  spare  time  I  had  from  work  was  spent 
for  the  most  part  in  his  sick  room.  He  died  in 
September,  1876,  after  a  lingering  illness,  and  I 
was  so  distressed  and  occupied  with  family  and 
business  affairs  that  I  do  not  even  remember 
whether  I  voted.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  if 
my  father  had  survived  he  would  have  voted  for 
Hayes,  for  he  not  only  had  profound  contempt 
for  the  post-bellum  Democracy,  but  regarded  Mr. 
Tilden  as  one  of  the  trickiest  and  most  unscrupu 
lous  politicians  in  America,  and  while  his  preju 
dices  against  the  Republican  party  were  strong  and 
deep,  he  declared,  when  Hayes  was  nominated, 
that  he  was  an  able  and  a  high  man.  How  far  he 
would  have  been  swerved  from  that  opinion  by  the 
things  done  after  the  Presidential  election  of  1876, 
and  in  the  proceedings  of  the  electoral  commission, 
we  cannot,  of  course,  know. 

It  would  be  foreign  to  the  purpose  and  the  scope 
of  these  reminiscences  to  enter  upon  the  details 
of  the  long  and  doubtful  controversy  which  suc 
ceeded  that  election.  I  took  no  part  in  it  and 
felt  little  interest.  It  was  manifest  to  me  that 
the  result  would  turn  upon  the  success  of  the 
political  jockeying  of  the  party  leaders.  I  had 
seen  enough  of  politics  to  satisfy  me  that  as  the 
two  parties  were  then  constituted  the  balance  of 
ability  and  resourcefulness  was  on  the  side  of  the 
Republicans.  To  my  mind,  when  the  Democrats 
were  inveigled  into  submitting  the  'contest  to  a 


RUTHERFORD  BIRCHARD  HAYES 

The  nineteenth  president  of  the  United  States  (1877-81) 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  135 

commission,  of  which  a  majority  were  Republicans, 
they  gave  up  their  case.  And  when  it  was  de 
veloped  that  the  Democratic  State  Governments 
in  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina  were  to  be 
installed  and  the  electoral  votes  of  those  States 
were  to  be  counted  for  the  Republicans,  it  was 
plain  to  me  that  poor  old  Tilden  had  been  sold  out 
and  that  the  price  of  his  slaughter  was  the  Demo 
cratic  control  of  those  two  Southern  States. 
Maybe  I  was  cynical.  Maybe  I  was  wrong  in  my 
conclusions.  Maybe  I  did  the  electoral  com 
mission  injustice.  But  it  all  came  out  just  as  I 
thought  it  would.  And  the  Electoral  Commis 
sion's  findings  were  no  surprise  to  me.  My  only 
regret  about  it  was  that  the  Supreme  Court  was 
dragged  into  the  controversy,  and  its  prestige  for 
impartiality  permanently  impaired  by  entrusting 
to  its  members  business  that  did  not  properly 
belong  to  them;  for  all  men,  even  Supreme  Court 
justices,  are  but  mortals,  and,  in  a  supreme 
crisis  like  that  are  unable  to  rise  above  the  in 
fluence  of  partisanship,  even  if  they  believe  they 
can. 

It  was  little  less  than  a  national  calamity  when 
the  members  of  the  Supreme  Court,  with  its 
exalted  record  and  the  faith  of  the  people  so 
firmly  fixed  upon  it,  were  placed  in  a  situation 
from  which  they  emerged,  with  one  of  their  number 
called  in  ridicule  "Aliunde  Joe,"  because  of  the 
wide-spread  opinion  that  he  was  a  partisan.  And 


i36  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

the  Court  has  never  since  filled,  as  it  did  before, 
the  popular  ideal  of  exalted  incorruptibility. 

President  Hayes  took  his  seat  under  the  blackest 
cloud  that  ever  hung  over  a  President.  He  had 
the  most  trying  role  to  play.  He  could  not  have 
done  otherwise  than  he  did.  To  have  failed  or 
refused  to  assert  his  title  to  the  Presidency,  by 
every  means  in  his  power,  would  have  been  a 
wrong  to  his  party  and  his  own  annihilation. 
He  naturally  committed  his  case  to  the  manage 
ment  of  his  party  leaders.  When  he  won  he  was 
subjected  to  a  murderous  cross-fire.  Of  course 
his  political  antagonists  denounced  him  as  a 
fraudulent  imposter.  But  that  was  not  the 
worst  of  it.  The  men  who  had  made  the  fight  for 
him  regarded  him  as  under  such  obligations  to 
them  that  he  was  their  creature,  and  every  time 
he  failed  to  do  what  they  demanded  they  were 
disposed  to  denounce  him  as  an  ingrate  and  to  hint, 
through  malice,  that  he  really  was  an  imposter. 

No  man  ever  was  in  a  more  trying  situation. 
It  was  fashionable  in  those  days  to  sneer  at  Hayes 
as  a  weak  accident  and  hypocrite.  But  I  saw  a 
good  deal  of  President  Hayes  and  believe  that  he 
was  an  able  and  upright  man,  and  that  history 
will  assign  him  a  much  higher  place  than  his  con 
temporaries  were  disposed  to  admit  him  entitled  to. 

Of  course  he  could  not  accomplish  much,  pulled 
and  hauled  and  mauled  about  in  every  direction, 
as  he  was  by  friend  and  foe. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  137 

He  made  a  fair  effort  to  conciliate  the  South. 
His  Postmaster  General,  Judge  Keyes  of  Tennes 
see,  was  a  Democrat,  and  he  announced  a  liberal 
policy  in  appointing  Southern  men  to  office.  I 
do  not  recall  just  where  I  first  met  President 
Hayes,  but  think  it  was  in  regard  to  some  Govern 
ment  business  at  the  White  House.  He  was  one 
of  the  most  patient,  courteous  and  considerate 
public  officials  with  whom  I  ever  came  in  contact. 
When  his  policy  of  appointing  Southerners  to  office 
was  announced,  a  lady  friend  with  claims  upon 
me  prevailed  upon  me  to  visit  the  President  and 
try  to  secure  for  her  husband,  an  educated  man 
without  talent  for  business,  a  Government  position. 
If  I  had  known  as  much  then  as  I  learned  later 
about  the  way  in  which  Government  positions 
are  secured,  I  never  would  have  gone  upon  any 
such  wild-goose  chase  or  consented  to  bother  a 
President  about  a  subordinate  appointment.  But 
I  wanted  to  help  a  friend  and  made  the  trip. 
It  was  in  the  summer  time  and  the  President  and 
his  family  were  temporarily  residing  at  the 
Soldiers'  Home.  The  telephone  was  just  coming 
into  use,  and  one  had  been  put  up  between  the 
White  House  and  the  Soldiers'  Home.  One  of  the 
officials  to  whom  I  was  known  inquired  if  the 
President  would  see  me  if  I  drove  out,  and  the 
reply  came  at  once  that  if  I  would  call  about 
6.30  P.  M  he  would  receive  me.  Upon  arriving 
there  I  was  ushered  into  the  sitting  room,  and  in 


1 38  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

a  moment  the  President  came  in,  smiling  and 
holding  a  napkin  in  his  hand.  I  had  evidently 
interrupted  him  at  dinner.  Of  course  it  was 
annoying  to  me,  but  he  good-naturedly  protested 
that  it  was  not  my  fault;  that  I  had  come  at  the 
hour  named  by  him,  and  that  ordinarily  his  dinner 
would  have  been  over;  but  that  he  had  been  out 
driving  with  Mrs.  Hayes  and  they  had  been  unex 
pectedly  detained,  so  that  I  found  them  at  dinner. 
He  invited  me  to  join  the  family,  and,  seeing  that 
he  would  not  return  to  his  meal  unless  I  consented 
to  accompany  him,  I  yielded.  There  I  met  Mrs. 
Hayes  and  some  lady  visitor  and  some  of  the 
Hayes  children,  I  do  not  remember  which. 

Mrs.  Hayes  was  a  beautiful,  dear,  sweet  woman. 
Their  meal  was  simple  enough,  and  their  hospitality 
just  as  gracious  as  ever  I  saw.  One  or  the  other 
of  them  said  something  about  having  no  wine,  and 
I  turned  it  off  by  saying  that  they  would  need  to 
make  no  apologies  or  explanations  to  me,  for  I 
came  from  a  section  where  the  people  were  too 
poor  to  indulge  in  such  luxuries. 

With  all  her  lovable  and  excellent  traits,  Mrs. 
Hayes  was  more  or  less  of  a  crank  on  this  subject. 
But  we  all  have  our  peculiarities  about  this  or 
that.  Whenever  I  see  a  person  so  obstinate  and  so 
pertinacious  in  trying  to  make  others  conform  to 
his  standard  of  life  I  try  not  to  offend  his  preju 
dice,  and  he  certainly  has  no  effect  upon  my 
views  or  habits.  That  sort  of  thing  is  a  species  of 


THIRTEEN  PRESIDENTS  139 

self-assertive  vanity,  or  prejudice,  which  more 
thorough  social  experience  would  teach  one  not  to 
intrude  on  others;  or  is  in  many  cases  a  form  of 
bitterness  resulting  from  the  abuse  of  liquor  by 
some  loved  one.  Whenever  I  see  a  person  of  that 
sort  my  curiosity  is  at  once  aroused  to  know  who 
the  relative  or  friend  was  that  was  destroyed  by 
liquor,  and  what  he  or  she  did  to  excite  this  bitter 
ness.  In  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred  this 
is  at  the  bottom  of  it.  President  Hayes  admired 
and  respected  Mrs.  Hayes  greatly  and  deferred  to 
her  demands  about  liquor,  but  I  do  not  think  he 
was  himself  in  the  least  fanatical  on  the  subject. 
What  impressed  me  most  about  him  was  his 
placidity,  and,  so  far  as  I  could  see,  the  many 
things  which  had  happened  and  were  happening, 
tending  to  make  him  morbid  or  embittered,  had 
produced  no  effect  upon  him.  It  was  in  strange 
contrast  with  the  effect  of  similar  treatment  upon 
President  Johnson. 

After  our  simple  and  delightful  repast  was  over 
the  President  conducted  me  to  a  little  veranda, 
and  we  entered  upon  a  discussion  of  the  business 
of  my  visit.  He  was  a  patient  listener,  and 
when  I  had  stated  the  case  said  he  fully  appre 
ciated  that  it  was  desirable  to  make  some  Southern 
appointments,  but  in  his  position  there  was  little 
controlled  by  him ;  that  nearly  all  the  places  were 
claimed  by  Senators  and  Congressmen,  who  not 
only  filled  all  vacancies  but  had  long  waiting  lists, 


i4o  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

and  that,  under  the  precedents  established,  the 
President  was  almost  without  patronage,  but  he 
would  see  what  he  could  do.  He  held  in  his  hand 
a  little  pocket  memorandum  book  and  from  time 
to  time  made  entries.  I  felt  sure  that  he  intended 
to  do  what  he  could,  and  when  I  parted  with  him 
he  told  me  he  would  see  what  he  could  do  and  I 
would  hear  from  him  again.  But  I  never  did  hear 
from  him  again.  I  never  blamed  him,  for  a  man 
in  his  position  cannot  possibly  recall  such  in 
significant  matters. 

The  little  memorandum  book  became  well 
known  to  the  visitors  to  President  Hayes,  and 
the  fun-loving  reporters  made  it  the  subject  of 
jests  more  witty  than  charitable.  It  was  even 
said  that  the  President  filled  a  book  a  day  and  at 
night  threw  it  into  a  drawer  and  never  recurred 
to  it,  so  that  at  the  end  of  his  term  there  were 
loads  of  these  unproductive  souvenirs.  Be  that 
as  it  may,  he  made  everybody  feel  well  and  hope 
ful  during  the  interview. 

President  Hayes  and  his  cabinet  visited  Rich 
mond  during  his  Presidential  term.  I  then  lived 
there  and  was  Captain  of  the  Blues,  a  volunteer 
company  organised  in  1793.  It  was  the  "Corps 
d' Elite"  of  the  city,  and  we  were  part  of  the 
military  escort  that  received  him.  With  him 
were  Mr.  Evarts,  Mr.  Sherman,  Judge  Keyes,  and 
others  of  his  cabinet,  but  between  my  military 
duties  and  the  duties  of  hospitality  I  saw  little 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  141 

of  them.  They  debarked  at  Monroe  and  Franklin 
streets,  and  the  President  spoke  from  a  platform 
erected  upon  a  vacant  lot  where  the  handsome 
residence  of  a  Mr.  Harris  now  stands.  Then  we 
had  a  parade.  The  President's  son,  Webb  Hayes, 
accompanied  him,  and,  as  he  was  keen  for  a  day's 
shooting  and  I  was  then  quite  a  famous  Nimrod, 
the  duty  of  giving  him  a  day's  sport  was  allotted 
to  me.  It  was  a  pleasant  service,  but  de 
prived  me  of  all  other  participation  in  the  gaities 
of  the  celebration.  Webb  Hayes,  Colonel  Crook, 
one  of  the  President's  secretaries,  and  a  friend  of 
mine  made  up  our  party.  We  sallied  forth  early 
the  following  morning  and,  as  I  recall  it,  shot  over 
the  farms  above  the  city,  "Westham,"  "Tucka- 
hoe,"  and  other  places.  We  had  a  good  day's 
sport.  I  found  both  Webb  Hayes  and  Colonel 
Crook  were  keen  sportsmen,  fairly  good  shots,  and 
excellent  fellows.  That  day  laid  the  foundation 
of  friendships  which  have  lasted  ever  since.  Crook 
is  still  at  the  White  House,  although  his  once 
tawny  beard  is  now  white  as  the  snow,  and, 
although  I  have  only  seen  Hayes  once  or  twice 
since,  we  have  always  remembered  each  other  and 
exchanged  pleasant  messages. 

The  last  time  I  saw  President  Hayes  was  at  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  not  long  before  his  death. 
He  had  come  here  to  attend  some  great  national 
celebration,  as  one  of  the  surviving  Presidents. 
Something  took  me  into  the  dining  room,  and  as 


1 42  THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS 

I  passed  out  an  old  gentleman  with  wnite  beard 
and  kindly  brown  eyes  smiled,  bowed  and  pushed 
back  his  chair.  For  a  moment  I  did  not  recognise 
him,  but  soon  saw  that  it  was  ex-President  Hayes 
and  felt  flattered  at  his  courteous  recognition. 
He  had  aged  very  much;  his  beard  which,  when  I 
first  knew  him,  was  a  rich  mahogany  brown,  had 
lost  all  colour;  and  he  had  shrunk  up,  which  is  to 
my  mind  a  premonition  of  the  end  in  persons  of 
his  age.  He  was  unattended;  Mrs.  Hayes  was 
long  since  dead;  his  children  all  married  and 
gone ;  and,  being  of  the  past  and  not  of  the  present 
or  future,  one  may  be  sure  not  many  New  Yorkers 
were  paying  him  attention.  Still  he  was  bright 
and  kindly  and  cheery,  and  did  not  seem  to  feel 
that  he  was  being  neglected.  I  sat  down  and 
had  a  few  minutes'  pleasant  chat  with  him,  and 
then  we  parted — forever. 


JAMES  A.  GARFIELD 


VIII.— JAMES  A.  GARFIELD 

I  NEVER  personally  met  President  Garfield  but 
once  in  my  life,  and  that  was  soon  after  his  in 
auguration,  at  the  White  House,  in  the  morning 
hour,  when  he  was  receiving  Senators  and  Mem 
bers.  At  that  time  I  was  not  a  Member  of  Congress 
and  do  not  recall  the  circumstance  which  occas 
ioned  the  visit.  I  remember  that  he  received  me 
pleasantly,  heard  whatever  I  had  to  say,  and  spoke 
in  an  encouraging  way.  But  I  did  not  like  him; 
did  not  like  his  eye.  It  was  a  bright,  strong 
eye,  but  was  too  light  in  colour;  it  was  inclined  to 
be  what  is  called  a  " gander"  eye.  Physically  he 
was  a  noble  specimen  of  manhood.  He  was  tall, 
erect,  had  a  fine  head  carriage,  and  the  dome  of 
his  forehead  was  much  nobler  than  it  is  portrayed 
in  any  of  his  portraits.  They  all  make  him  stouter, 
coarser,  less  intellectual  than  he  was.  Nobody 
upon  seeing  Garfield  could  mistake  him  for  an 
ordinary  man.  Yet  from  the  pictures  one  sees  of 
him  one  gathers  the  impression  that  he  was  a 
somewhat  coarse-featured,  fat-faced,  full-blooded, 
over-fed  man.  He  was  not.  He  was  a  well- 
proportioned,  handsome  man  of  gallant,  intellectual 
appearance,  and,  barring  the  '  'gander"  eye,  was  an 
unusually  prepossessing  man. 

145 


146  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

At  the  time  of  his  inauguration  I  was  becom 
ing  much  interested  in  politics.  I  ran  as  an 
Independent  candidate  for  Congress  in  the  Rich 
mond  district  in  1880  against  my  cousin,  George 
D.  Wise,  the  regular  Democratic  nominee,  and 
was  beaten  badly.  I  was  rapidly  becoming  a 
Republican.  When  Garfield  came  into  power  I 
thought  the  South  should  give  him  a  generous 
support.  I  sympathised  with  him  in  his  contest 
with  the  New  York  Senators,  and  thought  Conkling 
and  Platt  behaved  in  a  childish  and  foolish  way 
when  they  resigned  from  the  Senate.  I  thought 
he  made  a  mistake  in  selecting  Elaine  for  leader 
of  his  Cabinet. 

Another  thing  which  I  did  not  like  about  Gar- 
field  was  his  great  social  intimacy  with  certain 
Southern  Democratic  leaders  in  Washington,  whom 
I  knew  to  be  perfectly  hypocritical  in  their  pro 
fessions  of  friendship.  He  was  a  great  fellow  for 
talking  with  his  arm  around  one's  shoulder  and 
calling  people  by  their  first  names.  To  see  him  in 
Congress  with  the  Southern  coterie  I  have  men 
tioned,  one  would  have  imagined  they  had  nothing 
on  earth  that  was  not  in  common.  And  they  availed 
themselves  of  this  flattery  and  cajolery  of  Garfield 
to  make  him  help  them  in  a  number  of  their  pet 
measures.  That  was  all  right  enough,  if  they  had 
been  sincere.  But  they  were  not  sincere.  The 
same  men  who  would  thus  fawn  about  Garfield 
and  call  him  "Jim,"  when  they  wanted  his  help 


Copyright,  C.  M.  Bel 


JAMES  AKRAM  GARFIELD 

The  twentieth  president  of  the  United  States.     Inaugurated  March  4,  1881, 
and  shot  at  Washington  by  Guiteau,  July  2,  1881. 


THIRTEEN  PRESIDENTS  14? 

in  a  Republican  house,  returned  to  their  Southern 
districts,  in  instances  within  my  knowledge,  and 
in  their  attacks  upon  the  Republican  party  would 
include  Garfield  and  accuse  him  of  corruption  in 
the  "DeGolyer  Contracts"  and  other  matters, 
utterly  regardless  of  any  obligation  of  friendship. 
And,  when  it  was  all  over,  back  they  would  go 
to  Washington  and  appear  in  the  lobbies  with 
their  arms  about  Garfield's  neck,  joking  and 
making  merry  with  him  as  if  they  were  his  real 
friends,  and  he  seemed  to  be  flattered  by  it  and 
not  to  have  sense  enough  to  see  through  it  or  self- 
respect  enough  to  resent  such  an  insult.  That 
was  at  the  foundation  of  my  prejudice  against 
Garfield.  I  knew  what  a  hypocritical,  vindictive, 
double-faced  set  these  people  who  were  fawning 
upon  him  and  seemed  to  have  his  ear  were, 
and  I  could  not  understand  how  a  man  of  real 
ability  and  character  and  judgment  of  men  could 
be  deceived  by  them. 

But  Garfield  was  a  singular  character  in  many 
ways.  Nobody  questioned  the  man's  great  abili 
ties  or  his  eloquence  and  power  to  lead  men. 
Those  things  were  universally  conceded  to  him. 
But  if  half  the  stories  current  about  him  in  Wash 
ington  were  true,  there  was  an  infinite  chasm 
yawning  between  the  real  Garfield  and  the  popular 
ideal  of  the  man.  I  could  not  corroborate  one 
of  them,  if  I  should  venture  to  repeat  it,  and 
therefore  will  not. 


148  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

His  cruel,  tragic,  wanton  assassination  aroused 
the  greatest  sympathy  and  brought  forth  every 
thing  of  good  that  could  be  said  about  him. 
There  let  the  matter  rest. 

Yet  there  are  many  people  familiar  with  Gar- 
field  and  his  time  who  honestly  believe  that,  so  far 
as  his  own  reputation  for  the  future  is  concerned, 
his  assassination  was  a  lucky,  rather  than  an 
unlucky,  thing  for  him. 

I  remember  distinctly  the  spot  where  I  was 
standing  and  the  person  who  told  me  that  Garfield 
had  been  shot.  It  was  in  Richmond,  corner 
Eleventh  and  Main  streets,  in  front  of  the  National 
Bank  of  Virginia,  and  James  Lyons,  Jr.,  was  my 
informant.  I  remember  also  that  I  was  not  sur 
prised.  The  controversy  between  the  President 
and  the  New  Yorkers  had  been  so  rabid  that  the 
first  idea  which  occurred  to  me  was  that  Garfield 's 
death  might  be  in  some  undefined  way  associated 
with  that.  It  was  a  relief  to  learn  that  the 
horrid  thing  was  only  the  act  of  an  irresponsible 
lunatic. 

Something  again  took  me  to  Long  Branch 
while  Garfield  lay  wounded  at  Elberon.  Of 
course  the  President's  condition  was  the  subject  of 
universal  solicitude.  From  the  time  I  learned  the 
nature  of  his  wound  I  never  entertained  a  ray  of 
hope  that  he  would  recover.  Not  only  from  my 
war  experience,  but  from  a  large  and  varied 
experience  as  a  sportsman  and  with  many  kinds 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  149 

of  pets,  I  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  no  skill 
would  overcome  the  fatal  effect  of  a  columnar 
intestinal  wound  like  that.  By  this  time  my 
acquaintance  with  public  men  was  large,  and  many 
of  them  were  with  me  at  the  hotel  at  Long  Branch. 
One  evening  a  party  of  us  were  talking  when  an 
acquaintance,  a  prominent  man,  joined  our  group. 
He  looked  solemn  and  depressed.  Some  one  in 
quired,  "  Any  news  from  the  President? "  "  Yes," 
he  answered,  "I  have  just  seen  him."  He  then 
explained  that  he  had  visited  the  President's 
cottage;  that  as  he  was  an  old  friend  and  knew 
the  surgeons,  and  as  the  President  was  sleeping 
soundly,  they  had  permitted  him  to  take  a  look 
at  him  from  some  point  where  he  could  see 
without  disturbing  him  or,  perhaps,  even  entering 
the  room.  "Well,  what  do  you  think  of  his  con 
dition?"  was  the  eager  inquiry  from  several. 
He  shook  his  head  sadly,  and  after  some  reluct 
ance  said,  "Well,  the  surgeons  still  encourage 
hope,  and  maybe  I  know  nothing  about  it.  But " 
—and  he  paused  long  before  proceeding — "with 
out  their  reassurance  I  would  look  upon  him  as 
a  dead  man  now.  I  never  saw  such  a  shocking 
change  in  the  appearance  of  any  living  man.  I 
would  never  have  recognised  the  President  at  all. 
Even  his  skin  has  a  dried,  tanned  look  like  that 
of  a  mummy.  Oh,  my  God,  it  is  awful! "  and  he 
broke  down  and  wept. 

This  conversation  made  a  deep  impression  upon 


1 50  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

me.  Before  I  left  for  New  York  the  next  morning 
another  bulletin  appeared  and,  reading  between 
the  lines  with  what  I  had  heard,  I  felt  sure  the 
surgeons  were  preparing  us  for  the  end. 

I  lunched  with  a  friend  that  day  at  Delmonico's 
cafe,  located  at  Twenty-sixth  Street  and  Broad 
way.  While  we  were  at  luncheon  a  mutual 
friend  dropped  in  upon  us.  Learning  that  I  was 
just  returned  from  Long  Branch,  he  inquired 
whether  I  had  any  reliable  news  concerning  the 
President's  real  condition.  When  I  told  him 
what  I  knew  he  inquired  eagerly  what  my  engage 
ments  were  for  the  next  hour  or  two  and,  learning 
that  I  would  be  at  leisure,  requested  me  to  meet 
him  an  hour  later  at  the  Hoffman  House  prepared 
to  spend  an  hour  in  a  visit  to  a  friend.  At  the 
time  designated  he  returned  in  a  cab  and  we 
were  driven  to  the  house  on  Lexington  Avenue 
then  occupied  by  Vice-President  Arthur.  The 
curtains  at  the  front  were  down  as  if  the  house  was 
unoccupied.  We  were  promptly  admitted,  and  the 
servant  told  us  to  go  up  to  the  second  story  back 
room.  There  we  found  Arthur  and  several  friends, 
among  them,  if  I  remember  correctly,  being 
Colonel  Horace  B.  Fry,  the  late  Clint.  Wheeler 
and  Steve  French.  It  was  a  bachelor  establish 
ment,  free  and  easy,  with  plenty  of  tobacco  smoke 
and  decanters,  and  the  Vice-President  sat  upon 
the  side  of  a  bed  talking  earnestly  to  one  of  his 
friends  when  I  entered. 


THIRTEEN  PRESIDENTS  151 

He  greeted  me  cordially.  I  knew  him  even 
before  he  was  Vice-President.  Many  a  night, 
when  he  held  one  of  the  Government  offices,  he 
had,  after  the  theatre,  dropped  into  Delmonico's 
with  "the  boys,"  for  a  "high  ball,"  and  there  I 
first  met  him.  He  married  a  Virginian,  a  Miss 
Herndon  from  Fredericksburg,  and  I  knew  all  his 
Virginia  friends  and  some  of  his  groomsmen,  so 
that  was  the  bond  of  friendship  between  us. 

Arthur  behaved  admirably  during  Garfield's 
illness.  He  withdrew  from  his  old  haunts  and 
confined  himself  to  his  home.  His  manner  when 
he  met  me  was  very  quiet  and  dignified,  and 
showed  that  he  understood  full  well  what  the 
second  official  in  the  Nation  should  do  under 
such  circumstances.  I  told  him  all  I  knew,  and 
unhesitatingly  expressed  the  opinion  that  the 
President's  death  was  only  a  matter  of  a  few 
days  at  farthest.  Our  conversation  was  quite  a 
long  one,  and  then  I  joined  the  others  in  the  front 
room  or  library.  The  Vice-President  invited  me 
to  remain  to  dinner,  but  I  had  another  engage 
ment. 

Within  a  week  I  stood  with  bared  head  at  the 
Pennsylvania  depot  in  Washington  and  saw  the 
bier  of  Garfield  borne  from  the  train,  while  the 
Marine  Band  of  about  one  hundred  pieces  played 
the  most  impressive  dirge  I  ever  heard  and 
the  air  vibrated  with  the  melody  of  "Safe  in  the 
Arms  of  Jesus." 


CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR 


IX.-CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR 

MY  recollections  of  President  Arthur  and  the 
times  of  his  administration  are  among  the  most 
agreeable  of  my  young  and  vigorous  manhood. 
Early  in  1882  he  appointed  me  United  States 
Attorney  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Virginia,  and 
in  the  autumn  of  that  year  I  was  elected  Congress- 
man-at-Large  from  the  State  of  Virginia,  so  that  I 
resigned  my  United  States  Attorneyship  and  took 
up  my  duties  in  Washington  March  4,  1883. 
Mrs.  Wise  accompanied  me  and  we  established 
ourselves  at  the  Arlington  Hotel.  The  Democrats 
had  an  overwhelming  majority  in  the  House, 
which  gave  us  Republicans  ample  time,  as  we  had 
none  of  the  responsibilities  of  legislation  upon 
our  shoulders.  It  was  a  notable  House.  John  G. 
Carlisle  of  Kentucky  was  Speaker,  and  he  was  one 
of  the  best  and  fairest  speakers  the  House  of 
Representatives  ever  had.  Of  course  the  Demo 
crats  were  divided  among  themselves.  They  are 
always  divided  among  themselves.  Sam  Randall 
of  Pennsylvania,  than  whom  a  better  fellow  never 
lived,  led  the  tariff  wing  of  the  Democrats.  Morri 
son  of  Illinois,  representing  the  low  tariff  wing 
of  the  Democracy,  undertook  to  frame  a  tariff  bill. 
Among  other  Democrats  whom  I  recall  with 

155 


156  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

pleasure   and   kindness   were   Abram    S.    Hewitt, 
Mr.  Holman  of  Indiana,  Sunset  Cox  of  Ohio  and 
New  York,  R.  R.  Bland  of  Missouri,  Hatch  of  the 
same   State,    Mortimer   Elliott    of    Pennsylvania, 
General  Slocum  of  New  York,  Jack  Adams  of  the 
same  State,  John  Lamb  of  Indiana,  Springer  of 
Illinois,  Hon.  Hilary  A.  Herbert,  afterward  in  Cle 
veland's  Cabinet,  Governor  Oates  and  General  Joe 
Wheeler,  all  from  Alabama;  Clifton  Breckinridge 
of  Arkansas,  afterward  Minister   to    Russia;   Joe 
Blackburn  of  Kentucky,  afterward  Senator;  Gov 
ernor  Curtin  of  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Dockery,  since 
Governor  of  Missouri;  William  McAdoo,  then  of 
New  Jersey,  now    Police    Commissioner    of    New 
York;    Benton    McMillan,  afterward  Governor  of 
Tennessee;    Roger  Q.  Mills,    afterward    Governor 
and  Senator  from  Texas;    John  H.   Reagan,  the 
Confederate     ex-Postmaster      General;      General 
William  S.  Rosecranz  of  California;   and  William 
L.    Wilson   of    West    Virginia,    afterward    prom 
inent     under     Cleveland's     administration,     and 
best   known    perhaps   as   author   of    the   Wilson 
tariff  bill. 

My  Democratic  colleagues  from  my  own  State 
were  Messrs.  Garrison,  George  D.  Wise,  Cabell, 
Tucker,  O'Ferrall  and  Barbour,  two  of  whom, 
Garrison  and  O  Terr  all,  were  seated  after 
contests. 

My  seat  was  contested,  but  it  never  gave  me 
much  concern .  The  committee,  a  majority  of 


CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR 
The  twenty-first  president  of  the  United  States  (1881-85) 


THIRTEEN  PRESIDENTS  157 

which  was  of  course  Democratic,  reported  in 
my  favour.  Sam  Randall  had  been  a  play 
mate  of  my  uncles,  John  and  William  Sergeant, 
when  they  grew  up  together  in  Philadelphia. 
Nothing  pleased  him  more  than  to  sit  up  and 
tell  me  of  the  thriving  business  lie  and  "Bill" 
Sergeant  did  raising  pigeons  in  my  grandfather's 
stable  loft  at  the  old  residence  in  Fourth 
Street,  when  they  were  boys.  His  father, 
Josiah  Randall,  was  a  devoted  friend  of  my 
grandfather  Sergeant.  When  he  heard  of  the 
contest  he  sent  for  Mortimer  Elliott  of  Penn 
sylvania  and  Jack  Adams  of  New  York,  members 
of  the  committee,  and  told  them  that  whatever 
else  happened  I  was  not  to  be  molested.  My 
opponent  really  had  no  case,  and  as  the  Demo 
crats  had  about  seventy-five  majority  in  the 
House,  and  did  not  want  any  more,  I  was  never 
disturbed. 

On  the  Republican  side  were  a  great  many 
men  who  have  since  achieved  national  fame. 
There  were  Tom  Reed  of  Maine,  D.  B.  Henderson 
of  Iowa;  and  Uncle  Joe  Cannon  of  Illinois,  all 
of  whom  have  since  been  Speakers  of  the  House. 
And  McKinley,  who  was,  toward  the  end  of  the 
term,  ousted  by  Wallace;  the  present  Secretary, 
James  Wilson  of  Iowa;  Judge  Goff  of  West  Virginia; 
John  Kean,  Jr.,  now  Senator  from  New  Jersey; 
Hepburn  of  Iowa ;  Hiscock,  afterward  Senator  from 
New  York;  Knute  Nelson,  still  Senator  from 


158  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

Minnesota;  W.  D.  Washburn,  afterward  Senator 
from  Minnesota;  William  Walter  Phelps,  W.  D. 
(Pig-iron)  Kelley,  McComas,  afterward  Senator 
from  Maryland;  Sereno  Payne  of  New  York,  still 
in  Congress;  George  W.  Ray,  now  U.  S.  Judge; 
Ex-Governor  Rice,  A.  A.  Ranney  of  Massachusetts, 
and  last  but  not  least  poor  old  Belford  of  Colorado 
and  the  redoubtable  Tom  Ochiltree  of  Texas. 
The  Virginia  delegation  as  originally  returned 
was  six  Republicans  and  four  Democrats.  There 
were  three  contests.  The  Democrats  had  every 
thing  their  own  way.  They  made  short  shrift  of 
poor  old  Colonel  Bob  Mayo,  the  sitting  Republican 
member  in  the  first  district,  and  seated  the  con 
testant,  Garrison.  In  the  seventh  district  O'Fer- 
rall,  Democrat,  contested  John  Paul's  seat.  But 
before  the  contest  was  decided  Paul  was  appointed 
by  President  Arthur  United  States  District  Judge 
for  the  Western  District  of  Virginia,  which  vacated 
his  seat  in  Congress,  so  O'Ferrall  rather  took  it  by 
default.  He  would  probably  have  secured  it  in 
any  event.  When  the  Democrats  finished  with 
us  the  delegation  stood: 

REPUBLICANS 

Congressman:at-Large,  John  S.  Wise 
2d  Dist.,  Harry  Libbey, 
4th  Dist.,  Benjamin  S.  Hooper, 
9th  Dist.,  Henry  Bowen. 


THIRTEEN  PRESIDENTS  159 

DEMOCRATS 

ist  Dist.,  George  T.  Garrison, 
3rd  Dist.,  George  D.  Wise, 
5th  Dist.,  George  C.  Cabell, 
6th  Dist.,  John  Randolph  Tucker, 
7th  Dist.,  Charles  T.  O'Ferrall, 
9th  Dist.,  John  S.  Barbour. 

There  was  a  good  deal  of  bad  blood  between  the 
representatives  of  the  opposing  parties  in  Virginia, 
especially  during  an  investigation  into  the  origin 
and  nature  of  a  riot  in  Danville  in  which  a  number 
of  negroes  were  killed,  but  on  the  whole  party 
feeling  did  not  run  very  high  during  Arthur's 
administration . 

President  Arthur  was  one  of  the  most  loyal 
Republicans  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the 
"best  fellows"  I  ever  knew.  He  was  the  soul 
of  kindness  and  hospitality  to  his  political  op 
ponents,  but  he  never  permitted  them  to  bam 
boozle  him  into  doing  anything  through  personal 
kindness  which  tended  to  weaken  his  party. 
The  Southern  Bourbon  representatives  were  then, 
as  they  always  have  been,  captivating,  compan 
ionable  men,  who,  under  the  guise  of  social  bon- 
hommie,  try  to  reach  the  higher  and  better  element 
of  Republicanism  in  the  North,  to  convince  it 
that  they  are  the  only  real  representative  or 
trustworthy  people  in  the  South,  and  that  there 


160  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

must  be  something  radically  wrong  and  out  of 
gear  in  any  Southern  man  who  can  bring  himself 
to  affiliate  with  the  Republican  party  there, 
which,  as  they  put  it,  is  synonymous  with  com 
bining  with  negroes  to  dominate  the  best  people. 
They  are  liars  and  hypocrites,  and  nobody  knows 
it  better  than  themselves.  But  they  are  indus 
trious  liars  and  most  plausible  hypocrites.  They 
ply  their  trade  through  men  and  through  women. 
The  Jesuit  priesthood  in  its  palmiest  days  never 
devised  its  sophistries  more  cunningly  or  dis 
seminated  them  more  insidiously  than  does  South 
ern  Bourbonism  this  class  of  appeal  for  Northern 
Republican  sympathy.  And  it  is  surprising  to 
see  what  they  accomplish  by  it. 

But  the  thing  I  admired  most  about  Arthur 
was  that  he  associated  with  them,  allowed  them 
to  practise  all  their  wiles  upon  him,  even  left  them 
believing  that  they  had  impressed  him,  saw 
through  and  through  them,  and  was  not  in  the 
least  affected  by  their  pharisaical  talk,  but  went 
right  on  trying  to  build  up  a  respectable  and  real 
Republican  party  in  the  South. 

He  was  peculiarly  adapted  to  deal  with  that 
phase  of  politics.  He  had  married  in  the  South, 
and  had  been  thrown  a  great  deal  with  the  olcj 
Southern  aristocracy.  In  a  social  way  he  liked 
them,  and  was  glad  to  be  kind  and  hospitable  to 
them,  but  he  had  seen  enough  of  them  to  know 
that  it  was  just  as  impossible  to  make  a  Republican 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  161 

out  of  the  average  Southern  Bourbon  Democrat  as 
it  is  for  the  leopard  to  change  his  spots. 

He  understood  them  a  great  deal  better  than 
they  did  him.  He  was  a  great  deal  more  a  man 
of  the  world  than  any  of  them.  He  had  moved 
in  the  highest  social  and  in  the  lowest  political 
circles  of  the  great  cosmopolitan,  social,  political 
and  business  centre  of  this  country. 

Arthur  had  a  hold  upon  the  machine  in  his  home 
that  had  sprung  from  his  having  gone  in  and 
worked  with  the  "  rounders."  But  he  had  done 
this  with  the  same  good  sense  and  search  for  prac 
tical  knowledge  which  prompts  a  refined  and 
wealthy  youth  who  aspires  to  become  ultimately 
a  railroad  president  to  put  on  a  pair  of  overalls 
and  work  in  the  shops  at  the  most  subordinate 
tasks.  On  the  other  hand,  in  all  his  social, 
professional  and  political  relations  he  had  access 
to  and  was  part  of  the  highest  plane  of  society, 
and  had  learned  that  it  was  not  necessary  to  bully, 
antagonise  or  alienate  opponents;  that  a  really 
strong  and  diplomatic  politician  might  listen, 
conciliate,  be  courteous,  and  even  not  contradict 
an  opponent,  without  weakening  in  the  least  his 
own  convictions  or  purposes. 

The  dogmatism  and  provincial  inexperience  of 
Bourbonism  did  not  comprehend  the  patience  and 
suavity  of  Arthur.  They  often  thought  that 
they  had  made  their  impression  upon  him,  and 
he  took  no  pains  to  disabuse  them.  But  when  the 


1 62  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

time  came  he  always  showed  them  plainly  that  he 
was  not  in  accord  with  their  ideas,  and  they 
could  find  nothing  in  anything  he  said  to  them 
on  which  to  hang  a  pretense  that  he  had  excited 
false  hopes. 

Arthur  was  a  gentleman  himself,  and  he  did  not 
believe  it  was  possible  to  build  up  a  Republican 
party  in  the  South  which  would  have  a  permanent 
hold  there  unless  he  found  a  better  and  more 
representative  domestic  leadership  than  it  had 
enjoyed  in  the  past.  Nor  did  he  believe  he  would 
accomplish  much  by  giving  offices  to  Southern 
Democrats.  His  whole  simple  idea  therefore  was 
to  find  in  the  South,  if  he  could,  respectable 
Southerners  who  were  Republicans  and  to  com 
mit  the  party  into  their  hands,  to  build  it  up  there 
as  a  native  and  domestic  and  reputable  representa 
tive  of  a  divided  sentiment,  and  to  take  it,  if 
need  be,  out  of  the  hands  of  men  so  unidentified 
with  the  locality  or  so  personally  odious  that  they 
drove  people  out  of  the  party.  Speaking  to  me 
on  one  occasion  of  a  class  of  scalawags,  who  repre 
sent  nothing  but  have  been  steadily  given  the 
offices  there  since  their  supposed  ''loyalty"  in 
war  times,  he  said,  "  They  are  mere  birds  of  prey. 
As  well  expect  the  song  birds  to  come  and  roost 
on  the  trees  with  the  hawks  that  have  harried 
them  as  to  think  the  Southern  people  will  join  a 
party  under  their  leadership.  It  would  be  better  to 
pension  them  on  condition  that  they  come  North 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  163 

than  leave  them  there  to  repel  a  following,  no 
matter  how  good  the  principles  they  advocate. 
We  must  hunt  for  Republican  leaders  in  the 
South,  for  the  future,  somewhere  else  than  among 
the  scalawags  or  the  Bourbons.  There  must  be 
other  kinds  of  people  there,  and  when  I  find  them 
I  want  them." 

One  day  I  went  to  the  White  House  and  was 
ushered  into  the  President's  dining  room,  where 
I  found  him  surrounded  by  a  jolly  crowd  of 
Senators  and  Congressmen,  mostly  Democratic. 

Arthur  was  a  high  liver.  He  was  not  by  any 
means  a  drunkard,  but  he  was  a  typical  New 
York  man-about-town,  and  showed  it  in  his  fat 
and  ruddiness.  He  ate  and  drank  too  much,  and 
died  young  from  the  effects  of  over-indulgence. 
He  loved  good  company,  and  his  high-ball,  and 
his  glass  of  champagne,  and  his  late  supper  with 
a  large  cold  bottle  and  a  small  hot  bird.  He 
enjoyed  bright  stories,  though  he  was  not  much 
of  a  hand  at  telling  them. 

On  the  occasion  referred  to,  finding  myself  in 
such  a  company  of  political  opponents,  I  could 
not  help  feeling  that  I  might  be  de  trap,  for  it  was 
not  everywhere  that  Democrats  and  Republicans 
herded  together  in  those  days  indiscriminately. 
But  he  soon  put  me  at  my  ease.  After  a  little 
while  the  party  was  broken  up  and  he  gave  me 
the  wink  to  remain.  On  our  way  to  his  office  he 
said:  "What  a  pleasant  lot  of  fellows  they  are. 


1 64  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

What  a  pity  they  have  so  little  sense  about 
politics.  If  they  lived  North  the  last  one  of  them 
would  be  Republicans.  But  they  cannot  stop 
thinking  or  talking  about  negroes  long  enough 
to  think  or  talk  about  anything  else." 

One  of  the  pleasantest  and  most  amusing 
dinners  I  ever  attended  at  the  White  House  was 
given  by  President  Arthur.  His  sister,  Mrs. 
McElroy,  did  the  honours,  and  Mrs.  Wise  received 
with  her.  The  President  escorted  Mrs.  Wise  to 
dinner.  I  was  escort  of  his  niece,  Miss  May 
McElroy.  We  were  consequently  quite  near  the 
President.  The  McElroys  had  but  recently  re 
turned  from  a  long  visit  to  Europe,  and  gave  us 
very  bright  accounts  of  their  experiences  in  Nor 
way  and  Sweden.  Ours  was  a  jolly  company,  and 
the  dinner  all  that  one  could  wish  a  Presidential 
banquet  to  be.  A  thing  occurred  which  has  so 
often  been  the  subject  of  jest  that  I  almost  fear  to 
tell  it.  One  would  hardly  think  it  possible,  but  it 
is  literally  true. 

Two  rural  Congressmen  sat  near  enough  for 
us  to  sec  them  attempt  to  spear  some  small 
Spanish  olives  with  their  forks,  and  so  vigorous 
was  the  onslaught  made  by  one  of  them  that  the 
olive  sprung  out  of  the  dish  and  landed  in  the  shirt 
bosom  of  a  guest  opposite.  We  all  saw  the  contre 
temps,  and  so  amusing  was  it  that  we  would  have 
exploded  with  laughter  had  not  the  President 
warned  us  by  his  manner  and  turned  off  the 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  165 

matter  adroitly.  Arthur  was  a  very  prince  of 
hospitality,  and  nothing  could  betray  him  into 
discourtesy. 

All  through  my  Congressional  career  Arthur 
had  been  so  kind  to  me  and  so  considerate  that  I 
was  naturally  anxious  for  him  to  receive  the 
nomination  in  1884.  For  some  reason  I  did  not 
go  to  the  National  Convention.  I  thought  the 
nomination  of  Elaine  was  unwise.  Personally 
Mr.  Blaine  and  I  were  good  friends.  He  was  a 
brilliant,  captivating  man  and  had  flattered  me  in 
many  ways.  Among  other  things  he  sent  me, 
with  an  autograph  inscription,  a  copy,  bound  in 
turkey  morocco,  of  his  "  Twenty  Years  of  Con 
gress."  But  the  trouble  with  Blaine  was  that 
those  who  hated  him  hated  him  with  a  violence 
such  as  I  have  seldom  seen  any  man  excite. 
Thousands  admired  him  and  called  him  the 
"Plumed  Knight"  and  loaded  him  with  all 
kinds  of  flattery,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  hundreds 
seem  to  despise  him  and  no  base  name  was  too 
bad  for  him,  and  no  party  loyalty  seemed  to 
restrain  them. 

Now,  Arthur  was  a  safe  man,  and,  if  he  had  done 
nothing  particularly  brilliant,  he  certainly  had  not 
aroused  any  such  political  beehive  of  stinging 
hate  as  Blaine  seemed  to  stir  up.  The  Democrats 
had  done  nothing  to  make  them  particularly 
strong,  and  the  Republicans  had  done  nothing  to 
make  them  particularly  weak.  So  I  believed  that 


1 66  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

we  ought  to  leave  good  enough  alone  and  nominate 
Arthur.  And  I  still  believe  that  if  we  had  nomi 
nated  Arthur  he  would  not  only  have  carried 
New  York  but  would  have  been  elected. 

The  National  Republican  Convention  which 
was  to  decide  whether  Arthur  or  Elaine  should 
lead  >  the  Republican  forces  excited  a  great  deal 
of  interest.  The  struggle  was  protracted,  but 
Blaine  won.  Three  men  attacked  Blaine  in  a  way 
sufficiently  violent  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
whole  country.  One  of  them  was  an  old  politician 
and  something  of  a  chronic  kicker,  George  William 
Curtis;  the  other  two  were  youngsters,  political 
colts,  so  to  speak;  they  were  Theodore  Roosevelt 
of  New  York  and  Henry  Cabot  Lodge  of  Massa 
chusetts.  If  notoriety  was  what  these  gentlemen 
were  seeking,  they  attained  their  object.  By  the 
time  Curtis  and  Roosevelt  and  Lodge  had  given 
their  reasons  for  opposing  Blaine,  not  only  did  the 
whole  country  know  of  them,  but  the  opposition 
was  in  full  possession  of  all  the  material  it  needed 
to  get  up  that  frightful  campaign  caricature  of 
Blaine  called  "the  tattooed  man,"  which  did  as 
much  to  beat  him  as  anything  else. 

When  Blaine  triumphed  in  the  convention  public 
curiosity  at  once  became  aroused  to  know  the  atti 
tude  which  the  trio  of  his  assailants  in  the  Con 
vention  would  assume  towards  him.  Curtis  came 
out  against  him  and  soon  disappeared  from  politics. 
Roosevelt  and  Lodge  fell  into  line  and  supported 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  167 

Elaine,  with  the  ultimate  result  that  one  is  Presi 
dent  and  the  other  Senator  from  Massachusetts. 

The  blow  of  losing  the  Presidential  nomination 
was  a  severe  one  to  Arthur.  He  was  a  proud, 
sensitive  man.  He  felt  that  his  party  had  treated 
him  badly  and  ignored  his  faithful  services  when 
it  supplanted  him  with  Elaine.  But  Arthur  was 
a  strict  and  loyal  party  man.  He  did  every 
thing  in  his  power  to  carry  New  York  for  Elaine 
and  was  in  no  way  to  blame  for  the  failure.  If 
anybody  was  to  blame  it  was  Elaine  himself. 

Still  there  were  not  lacking  those  who  were  ready 
to  attribute  the  loss  of  New  York  to  Arthur,  and 
knowing  his  sensitive  and  punctilious  nature,  I 
believe  these  unjust  imputations,  added  to  his  dis 
appointment  at  not  receiving  the  nomination,  did 
much  to  hasten  President  Arthur's  death. 

Now  and  then  one  hears  people  discussing 
which  of  the  Presidents  have  been  gentlemen. 
The  word  has  a  legal  signification  in  England, 
which  makes  it  easy  to  determine  who  is  and  who 
is  not  a  gentleman.  In  America  whether  a  par 
ticular  person  is  or  is  not  a  gentleman  is  largely 
dependent  upon  the  notions  of  each  person  concern 
ing  what  constitutes  a  gentleman.  But  I  have  yet 
to  hear  anybody  familiar  with  the  personal  attri 
butes  of  our  Presidents,  and  trying  to  classify  them 
socially,  who  did  not  declare  that  Chester  A. 
Arthur  was  a  "gentleman,"  whatever  that  term 
may  mean  in  America. 


GROVER  CLEVELAND 


X.-GROVER  CLEVELAND 

IF  I  treated  of  the  Presidents  in  the  order  of 
my  acquaintance  with  them,  I  should  write  of 
President  Harrison  before  President  Cleveland, 
for  I  never  met  Mr.  Cleveland  until  after  the 
expiration  of  his  first  term.  My  service  in  Congress 
ended  when  his,  as  President,  first  began,  and  I 
left  the  capital  the  same  day.  Elaine's  defeat 
was  a  great  disappointment  to  me,  and  I  presume 
I  was  as  narrow  and  as  bitter  as  the  average 
politician  and  took  myself  off  home  to  rub  my 
sore  spots.  During  the  first  year  of  Mr.  Cleveland's 
Administration,  I  was  Republican  candidate  for 
Governor  of  Virginia,  and  of  course  the  whole 
power  of  the  Administration  was  brought  to  bear 
against  me.  It  was  during  this  campaign  that  I 
first  held  political  communication  with  young 
Roosevelt.  Foraker  was  running  in  Ohio,  and 
our  two  campaigns  excited  considerable  interest. 
One  day  I  received  a  kind  note,  in  mourning, 
written  from  Centre  Moriches,  signed  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  expressing  interest  in  my  campaign 
and  the  hope  that  I  might  be  elected.  The 
mourning  was  for  the  first  Mrs.  Roosevelt,  and 
the  writer  was  only  about  twenty-nine  years  of 
age.  I  was  defeated  by  the  returns  for  governor, 

171 


172  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

and  removed  to  New  York  in  the  Autumn  of  1888, 
retaining  my  Virginia  residence  long  enough  to  vote 
for  President  Harrison.  Mr.  Cleveland  also  came  to 
New  York  after  the  expiration  of  his  first  term, 
and  it  was  here  I  met  him  first  at  some  public 
function.  I  remember  his  saying:  "Why  I  knew 
all  the  other  Wises,  George,"  etc.,  etc.,  calling 
their  names.  "  How  is  it  I  never  met  you  before? " 
To  which  I  laughingly  replied:  "Mr.  President,  I 
did  not  have  anything  you  wanted  and  you  did 
not  have  anything  I  could  get,  so  I  kept  away 
from  you."  "Oh!"  said  he  good-naturedly,  "you 
are  the  bad  one,  are  you?  I  know  you  now." 
I  liked  Mr.  Cleveland  from  the  first  and  he  has 
proved  in  many  ways  that  he  reciprocates  the 
feeling.  Although  I  never  voted  for  him,  I  have 
a  great  respect  and  regard  for  him,  and  believe 
that  he  made  a  good  President.  I  do  not  mean 
by  that  to  endorse  his  political  views,  but  I 
regard  him  as  a  sound,  conservative  statesman, 
whose  chief  fault,  in  the  eyes  of  his  followers,  was 
that  he  was  better  than  his  party. 

But  I  do  not  intend  to  discuss  his  politics. 
My  purpose  is  simply  to  portray  the  man  as  I 
have  known  him,  and  to  convey  some  idea  of  the 
man  himself.  The  first  time  I  was  ever  thrown 
with  him  more  or  less  intimately  was  at  a  famous 
dinner  given  at  the  Astor  House  by  the  late  John 
Russell  Young  to  a  number  of  his  friends.  Mr. 
Young  was  a  lovable  man  and  had  warm  friends 


Copyright,  1892,  by  Napoleon  S»rony. 

GROVER  CLEVELAND 

The   twenty-second   (and  twenty-fourth)    president    of    the    United    States 
(1885-89  and  1893-97). 


,t\ 


C  6.L' 


THIRTEEN  PRESIDENTS  173 

in  all  parties.  The  group  of  people  he  assembled 
on  the  occasion  now  described  was  quite  remarka 
ble.  I  remember  that  General  Sherman,  Mr.  Cleve 
land,  Chauncey  Depew,  Mr.  John  W.  Mackay, 
Tom  Ochiltree,  and  many  others  whose  names  are 
now  forgotten,  were  present.  They  were  all  people 
who,  at  one  time  or  another  in  their  public  careers, 
had  felt  the  generous  friendship  of  Young  and 
had  become  attached  to  him.  It  was  a  regular  love- 
feast,  and  we  all  had  a  good  time.  Our  common 
love  of  field  sports  brought  Mr.  Cleveland  and 
myself  together  as  we  had  never  been  before, 
and  we  promised  each  other  that  some  day  when 
we  could  both  find  time  we  would  go  shooting 
together.  After  that,  whenever  we  met  we  were 
good  friends,  and  once  or  twice  I  tried  to  induce 
the  ex- President  to  go  on  shooting  trips  with  me, 
but  something  always  prevented  our  going.  Finally 
the  Presidential  election  of  1888  came  around,  and 
Cleveland  turned  the  tables  upon  President 
Harrison  and  defeated  him.  I  supported  Harrison 
loyally  and  ardently,  but  with  a  feeling  of  much 
greater  respect  and  regard  for  Mr.  Cleveland  than 
I  had  evinced  in  prior  campaigns;  for,  differ  as 
one  may  from  him,  no  man  who  knows  him 
can  fail  to  realise  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of 
rugged  simplicity  and  real  manhood  in  Grover 
Cleveland. 

Now  it  sc  happened  that  when  I  lived  in  Virginia 
I  formed  a  warm   attachment  for  a   deaf-mute. 


i74  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

He  was  a  remarkable  character  in  this,  that  not 
withstanding    his    infirmity,    he    was    an    ardent 
sportsman  and  a  wonderful  handler  of  dogs.     He 
was   bright    and   pertinacious.      He   broke    dogs 
with  a  whistle  and  by  signs;  and,  unable  to  yell 
at    them    and   confuse   them,  as   so   many   dog- 
breakers  do,  his  pupils  were  singularly  well-broken. 
He  and  I  were  sworn  friends,  and  I  gave  him  a 
good  many  dogs  to  break.     When  we  first  met 
I  wore  a  tall  silk  hat,  from  which  he  began  to  refer 
to  me  in  all  his  sign  language  as  "  Stove-pipe,"  by 
which  name  he  continued  to  call  me  until  he  died, 
only   shortening    the    designation   to  "S.-p.,"  as 
mutes  are  wont  to  do.      He  taught  me  the  sign 
language,  and  he  also  wrote  a  remarkable  hand 
very  rapidly.    He  was  a  man  of  unusual  intelligence, 
interested  in  literature  and  politics.     I  do  not  think 
he  had  very  definite  political  views,  but  it  was 
sufficient  for  him  to  know  that  his  friend  "  S.-p.  " 
was  a  Republican  to  make  him  one  also.     The  poor 
fellow,  in  answer  to  my  praise  of  his  excellent  in 
formation,  had  always  but  one  reply.     He  would 
shrug  his  shoulders  and  write:     "What  good  does 
it  do  me?     I  cannot  apply  my  knowledge.     There 
is  nothing  for  a  deaf-mute  to  do. ' '     After  Harrison's 
election  I  aided  in  having  him  made  postmaster 
at  the  little  town  where  he  lived.     It  was  a  verita 
ble    godsend   to   him.      It  was   the   place   above 
all  others  in  the  world  for  which  he  was  peculiarly 
fitted.      He  knew  every  patron  of  the  office,  was 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  175 

methodical,  sober,  domestic,  always  at  his  place, 
and  wrote  an  excellent  hand.  Accustomed  to 
study  all  written  or  printed  matter  submitted  to 
him,  no  instruction  or  requirement  of  the  Depart 
ment  escaped  him,  and  they  told  me  at  the  Post- 
office  Department  in  Washington  that  his  office 
was  really  a  model  in  respect  to  reports,  details 
and  the  observance  of  requirements.  He  was  the 
proudest  creature  I  ever  saw.  Obtaining  that 
little  office  and  finding  that  his  work  in  it  was  so 
satisfactory  to  his  employers  gave  him  a  new  hope 
in  life,  and  made  him  no  longer  feel  that  there  was 
no  sphere  of  usefulness  for  him  by  reason  of  his 
infirmity.  His  letters  to  me  were  voluminous, 
and  filled  with  gratitude  and  renewed  hope. 

Well,  when  Cleveland  came  back  into  power, 
the  Virginia  Democratic  Congressmen  gave  notice 
that  "to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils."  Poor 
old  Turner  (that  was  his  name)  wrote  me  doleful 
letters,  telling  me  the  Democrats  had  their  eye 
on  his  place  and  intended  to  turn  him  out,  not 
only  because  he  was  a  Republican  but  because 
I  put  him  there.  He  took  it  philosophically,  but 
showed  that  he  felt  no  hope.  I  tried  to  cheer  him 
up,  but  really  did  not  know  on  what  ground  I 
could  encourage  him.  One  cold  evening  in  the 
winter  of  1892-93,  after  the  Presidential  election 
but  before  Mr.  Cleveland's  inauguration,  I  found 
myself  standing  at  the  Rector  Street  station  by 
the  side  of  Mr,  Cleveland.  It  was  snowing  and  we 


i?6  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

were  waiting  for  a  train  on  the  elevated  road  to 
take  us  to  our  homes.  I  had  that  very  day  had 
a  mournful  letter  from  Turner.  "  Ah!  Mr.  Presi 
dent,"  said  I  cheerily,  "this  is  an  unexpected 
pleasure!  Unless  you  are  so  proud  of  your 
victory  that  you  will  not  speak  to  Republicans." 
"Hello,  Wise,"  said  he  in  the  most  democratic 
fashion.  "Oh,  no,  I'm  not  so  proud.  I  think 
you  may  be  regarded  as  no  longer  dangerous." 
The  train  came  up  and  we  took  seats  side  by  side. 
I  said  something  pleasant  of  a  personal  nature,  and 
we  soon  began  to  talk  about  shooting.  He  re 
marked  that  it  was  a  fine  day  for  brant  shooting. 
"  Mr.  President,"  said  I,  "if  any  one  had  told  me  I 
would  be  holding  up  my  plate  for  soup  to  you 
some  day  I  think  I  would  have  resented  it,  but 
here  I  am  among  the  earliest  wanting  a  favour." 
I  then  told  him  about  the  deaf-mute  who  was 
such  a  fine  dog-trainer.  That  interested  him, 
particularly  the  way  the  man  used  his  whistle  and 
made  signs  with  his  hands.  I  then  told  him  the 
story  of  his  appointment  and  the  pride  he  felt  in 
his  post-office,  as  told  above.  He  listened  atten 
tively  and  finally  said:  "Of  course  he  ought  not 
to  be  turned  out.  If  it  was  you,  of  course  you'd 
have  to  go.  But  robbing  a  poor  devil  like  that 
of  the  only  thing  he  is  fit  for  would  not  be  politics 
but  petty  meanness.  I  cannot  remember  things 
like  this,  but  when  I  name  my  Postmaster  General 
you  see  him,  and  if  he  doesn't  help  you  I  will." 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  177 

So  Mr.  Cleveland  and  I  parted  at  his  station  better 
friends  than  ever. 

Soon  after  his  inauguration  and  the  announce 
ment  of  his  cabinet,  I,  being  in  Washington  on 
other  business,  called  upon  Mr.  Bissell,  Postmaster 
General,  and  began  to  tell  him  of  the  case  of 
J.  Marshall  Turner,  postmaster  at  Walkerton,  Va., 
and  of  my  desire  to  have  him  retained.  He  in 
terrupted  me  with  the  query,  "  Didn't  you  say 
something  about  this  to  the  President?"  ;<  Yes,  I 
did,"  I  replied.  "  But  it  was  a  long  time  ago  and 
I  had  no  idea  he  remembered  it."  "Well,  I  do 
not  think  he  remembered  the  details,  but  he  told 
me  that  if  Wise  came  to  see  me  I  must  help  him. 
And  this  is  the  case,  is  it?"  said  he  laughing,  and 
adding,  "  You  and  Mr.  Cleveland  and  the  dog- 
breaker.  Go  and  see  Maxwell,  Fourth  Assistant. 
He'll  help  you."  So  I  hied  myself  to  Maxwell,  a 
New  Yorker  and  good  fellow.  "I'll  help  you,"  said 
he.  "I'll  lose  the  papers,  and  it  will  be  a  long 
time,  I  promise  you,  before  anybody  finds  them." 
Thanking  him,  and  feeling  sure  from  my  knowl 
edge  of  how  such  things  are  done  that  it  would  be 
a  long  time  before  they  turned  Turner  out,  I  wrote 
him  to  be  of  good  cheer.  When  I  bade  him  hope 
he  thought  I  was  a  magician.  Fully  twelve  months 
went  by  and  I  heard  no  more  of  Turner,  by 
which  I  knew  that  he  was  still  in  office.  One  day, 
as  I  was  preparing  to  go  to  Washington  on  other 
business,  I  received  a  telegraphic  wail:  "I  am 


i78  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

turned  out.  See  Richmond  paper."  In  half  an 
hour  a  Democratic  paper  published  in  Richmond 
was  placed  in  my  hands.  It  had  a  flaming  an 
nouncement  : 

BOUNCED  AT  LAST!  WISE'S  MAN  MUST  GO! 


CONGRESSMAN  JONES  TRIUMPHS  AFTER  A  HARD 
FIGHT 

Then  the  paper  proceeded  to  narrate  what  a 
valiant  and  protracted  battle  Congressman  Jones 
had  made  to  obtain  this  office  for  a  worthy 
Democrat,  against  my  wily  tricks  to  keep  Turner 
in,  and  how,  at  last,  I  had  been  vanquished  and 
a  new  man,  whose  name  I  have  forgotten,  had 
been  appointed.  I  laughed  heartily,  for  I  am  sure 
I  had  not  heard  a  word  about  Turner  or  his  post- 
office  for  a  twelvemonth.  But  there  had  been 
battles  royal  in  Washington. 

The  next  day,  when  I  finished  the  business  which 
took  me  to  the  capital,  I  called  at  the  Post-office 
Department,  and  first  sought  out  Mr.  Maxwell. 
He  met  me  with  a  broad  grin,  and  said:  "Well, 
old  fellow,  I  did  the  best  I  could.  I  held  the 
papers  until  a  peremptory  demand  that  I  should 
find  them  came  from  the  Postmaster  General." 
"Thank  you,  thank  you,"  said  I.  "I  know  you 
did  your  best.  Now  tell  me,  what  is  the  matter 
with  the  Postmaster  General? "  "  Why,  man  alive, 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  179 

that  Congressman  down  there  has  made  his  life  a 
burden,"  said  he,  giving  me  some  details  of  Mr. 
Jones's  importunities.  "You  see  the  Postmaster 
General,"  said  he,  "  he'll  tell  you  all  about  it." 
"One  word  more,"  said  I,  "and  I'll  go.  Has  the 
bond  of  the  new  postmaster  been  approved?" 
"No."  "Has  his  commission  been  signed?"  "No." 
"Will  you  hold  them  until  you  hear  from  me?" 
"Yes,  if  you  let  me  hear  to-day."  "Good,"  said 
I,  and  went  to  the  Postmaster  General.  Mr. 
Bissell  was  a  large  and  not  a  very  suave  man, 
and  when  I  entered  his  office  showed  that  he  was 
not  glad  to  see  me.  His  first  greeting  was,  "  Well, 
sir,  I  know  what  you  have  come  to  see  me  about, 
and  I  want  to  say  to  you  that  I  think  you  have 
been  shown  all  the  consideration  which  a  Repub 
lican  is  entitled  to  from  a  Democratic  Administra 
tion.  In  the  effort  to  protect  your  man,  I  have 
submitted  to  more  abuse  and  insult  from  Congress 
man  Jones  than  I  have  received  from  anybody  since 
I  entered  upon  the  duties  of  this  office.  He  has 
gone  so  far  that  I  ought  to  have  ordered  him  out 
of  the  office.  But,  finally,  thinking  I  may  have 
treated  him  badly,  I  concluded  to  give  it  up  and 
appoint  his  man,  and  I  can  do  no  more  for  you. 
It  is  not  worth  while  for  you  to  protest."  I  saw 
his  temper,  and  felt  sorry  for  the  way  he  had  been 
annoyed.  "Mr.  Postmaster  General,"  said  I 
gently,  "  you  misapprehend  me.  I  am  not  here  to 
chide  you  or  to  protest.  I  am  here  to  thank  you 


180  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

for  all  you  have  done,  and  to  express  my  regret 
that  I  have  caused  you  so  much  annoyance 
and  raised  such  a  storm  around  you."  It  was 
the  soft  answer  that  turns  away  wrath.  Seeing 
that  he  was  mollified,  I  added  gently,  "  Have  you 
approved  the  new  man's  bond? "  "  No."  "  Have 
you  signed  his  commission ? "  "  No."  "  When  will 
those  things  be  done  in  the  ordinary  course  of 
business,  Mr.  Postmaster  General?"  I  ventured 
this  last  inquiry  in  the  most  seductive  way. 
"Why,  as  soon  as  they  go  through  the  regular 
routine.  In  a  day  or  so,  I  presume,"  he  answered 
gruffly.  "Well  now,  Mr.  Postmaster  General,  I 
know  how  good  you  have  been  to  me.  Is  it 
stretching  your  kindness  too  far  to  ask  you  to 
hold  up  these  signatures  for  twenty -four  hours,  so 
as  to  enable  me  to  see  the  President?"  "See  the 
President!"  he  exclaimed.  "You  don't  think  the 
President  will  mix  up  in  a  matter  of  this  size  do 
you?"  "Hardly/'  said  I;  "but  then  he  might. 
Will  you  not  wait  for  me?"  He  mused  a  minute 
and  then,  whirling  his  revolving  chair  about,  said: 
"All  right!  I'll  wait  a  day.  And  after  the  way 
that  Congressman  treated  me,  I  don't  care  what 
the  President  does."  I  tipped  the  wink  to  Maxwell 
as  I  went  out  of  the  Department,  and  hurried,  in 
a  cab,  to  the  White  House. 

I  found  the  President  surrounded  by  Democratic 
magnates.  One  of  his  feet  was  in  a  great  cloth 
shoe,  for  he  was  recovering  from  an  attack  of 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  181 

gout.  He  greeted  me  cordially,  pointed  to  a 
large  sofa  near  a  window,  and  bade  me  sit  down 
and  read  the  paper  until  he  was  through  with  his 
visitors.  It  was  a  beautiful  spring  morning  and 
the  sunlight  lit  up  Arlington,  and  the  monument, 
and  the  Potomac.  Out  on  the  lawns  the  great 
red-breasted  robins  were  hopping  about,  bobbing 
for  worms.  It  was  an  ideal  day  for  shooting- 
snipe  shooting  at  Jamestown.  It  seemed  an  in 
terminable  time  before  the  last  of  his  visitors  with 
drew,  and  then  he  limped  over  to  me  with  his 
lower  lip  pouted  out  and  curled,  as  is  his  wont 
when  in  a  good  humor.  "  Sorry  I  kept  you  so 
long, ' '  said  he,  taking  a  seat  beside  me.  I  answered 
back,  "  Oh,  get  through  with  your  janissaries,  and 
prebendaries  and  stipendiaries,  Mr.  President,  and 
come  with  me."  He  chuckled  and  repeated  to 
himself,  "  Janissaries,  and  prebendaries  and  stipen 
diaries,"  and  then  said,  "Well,  what  is  it?" 
"  Snipe! "  said  I.  "  Come  on;  I  have  a  private  car 
all  ready,  loaded  with  black-tailed  deer,  and 
woodcock,  champagne,  and  everything.  We'll 
slip  out  of  here  quietly  and  go  to  Williamsburg, 
drive  thence  to  Jamestown  Island  and  have  a  bully 
time.  Look  out  of  the  window,  Mr.  President- 
Look  at  the  haze.  It  actually  smells  like  snipe." 
May  the  Lord  forgive  me  for  that  Munchausen 
story  about  the  private  car.  I  had  nothing  of  the 
kind.  But  if  the  President  had  consented  the  car 
would  have  been  there,  for  dear  old  Frank  Thorn- 


1 82  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

son,  President  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  loved 
hunting  as  well  as  we  did.  He  and  I  had  been  out 
several  times,  and  a  telegram  would  have  brought 
him  whirling  into  Washington  with  car  and  all. 
The  yearning  look  given  by  Cleveland  at  my 
bidding  was  almost  pitiful.  With  a  deep  sigh  he 
said,  "Gads,  I  wish  I  could.  No,  can't  go.  No 
use.  And  even  if  I  could,  I've  promised  another 
man."  Seeing  that  there  was  no  chance  of  his 
going,  and  having  him  in  a  good  humor,  I  settled 
down  to  business.  "  Mr.  President,"  said  I,  "  they 
are  trying  to  kill  my  little  ewe  lamb."  "What's 
your  little  ewe  lamb?"  he  blurted  out  with  a  per 
plexed  look.  Then  I  told  him  of  the  row  at  the 
Post-office  Department.  As  I  proceeded  I  saw  a 
negative  cloud  settling  on  his  face.  Finally,  when 
I  grew  eloquent  and  said  "  Turning  that  poor  devil 
out  is  like  striking  a  woman,"  he  interrupted  me, 
saying,  "  Look  here,  Wise,  do  you  think  I  was  put 
here  to  settle  rows  over  fourth-class  postmasters? 
What  can  I  do?"  I  knew  how  stubborn  old 
Grover  is  when  combed  the  wrong  way,  and  I 
thought  my  case  was  lost.  "  Now,  Mr.  President," 
said  I,  "  you  ask  '  What  can  I  do  ? '  You  can,  if  you 
will,  do  the  nicest  little  thing  you  ever  did  in  your 
life,  and  it  will  not  be  very  troublesome.  Just 
write  on  a  card :  '  Postmaster  General :  Take  no 
further  action  concerning  Walkerton  post-office 
until  you  hear  from  me.'  Sign  this  and  give  it  to 
me  and  I'll  forgive  you  for  going  back  on  me  about 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  183 

that  snipe  hunt."  He  set  his  head  sideways  and 
his  face  rippled  into  a  smile.  He  said:  "  No.  You 
leave  the  address  and  I'll  write  the  letter.  I  must 
go  now. ' '  I  thanked  him  and  was  withdrawing  when 
he  called  me  back.  "  Say,  for  fear  the  letter  may 
not  reach  there  in  time,  you'd  better  drive  by  the 
Department  and  tell  Bissell  it's  coming."  Nobody 
ever  did  a  kindness  more  graciously  than  Mr. 
Cleveland.  Certain  of  the  result,  I  returned  to 
New  York  after  calling  at  Mr.  Bissell's  office  as 
directed  by  the  President.  When  I  told  Mr. 
Bissell,  he  said :  "  Glad  of  it.  Now  Jones  and  the 
President  can  fight  it  out.  But,  Mr.  Wise," 
added  the  Postmaster  General,  "  the  charge  is  that 
your  man  is  an  'offensive  partisan,'  and  that  he 
talks  politics."  Stealing  close  to  him  I  said  im 
pressively,  in  a  low  voice:  "Whatever  other  charge 
I  may  be  unable  to  disprove,  I  can  knock  that 
charge  into  a  cocked  hat.  My  man  is  deaf  and 
dumb.11  I  never  afterward  met  Secretary  Bissell 
that  he  did  not  ask  me  if  my  man  was  still  talk 
ing  politics.  When  I  reached  home  I  wrote  Turner 
that  he  was  all  right  provided  he  did  not  talk 
politics.  Turner  died  in  office  long  after  McKin- 
ley's  election,  and  I  told  him  to  hang  Grover 
Cleveland  and  Harrison's  pictures  side  by  side. 
He  always  had  nicknames  for  his  favourites.  His 
name  for  Mr.  Cleveland  was  "  Old  Durham."  He 
said  he  looked  like  John  B.  Davis's  (a  neighbour 
of  his)  Durham  bull,  which  he  admired  greatly. 


1 84  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

In  time  the  President's  abbreviated  name  in  all 
our  correspondence  became  "O.  D.,"  just  as  mine 
was  "  S.-p."  Another  year  passed  by  and  I  heard 
no  more  of  Turner  and  his  office. 

One  day,  on  the  cars,  Holmes  Conrad,  a  Demo 
crat,  met  me.  He  was  an  office-holder  under 
Cleveland  in  Washington.  "Look  here,"  said  he, 
"what  sort  of  a  pull  is  this  you  have  with  the 
'old  man'?"  "Pull?  Old  man?"  said  I,  for  I 
was  not  thinking  of  the  subject.  "What  pull? 
What  old  man?"  "Why,  Mr.  Cleveland,  of 
course,"  said  he.  "That's  what  we  call  him." 
"  I  have  not  seen  Mr.  Cleveland  for  six  months," 
said  I.  "  What  are  you  talking  about? "  "  Harry 
Tucker  told  me  all  I  know,"  replied  Conrad 
laughing.  "  He  says  you  whipped  out  the  whole 
Virginia  delegation."  Curious  to  hear  more,  I 
probed  him,  and  he  told  me  the  following :  "  Harry 
Tucker  says  that  some  months  ago  Billy  Jones 
called  upon  him  and  the  other  Virginia  members 
to  go  up  with  him  to  the  White  House  in  a  body 
to  see  the  President  about  a  post-office  concerning 
which  he  considered  himself  badly  treated.  So 
on  a  certain  morning  they  assembled  and  demon 
strated  in  force.  They  were  all  there  and  Jones 
was  to  be  spokesman.  Old  Grover  seemed  to  be 
in  a  very  good  humor.  '  Well,  gentlemen,  what 
can  I  do  for  you,'  said  he  smiling.  '  Mr.  President/ 
began  Jones,  'we  have  come  to  see  you  about  a 
matter  in  which  I  think  I  have  been  badly  treated. 


THIRTEEN  PRESIDENTS  185 

It  is  concerning  the  post-office  at  Walkerton.'  As 
he  uttered  the  word  Walkerton  the  President's 
whole  manner  changed.  He  looked  at  Jones  and 
said  sharply:  'What's  the  name  of  the  post 
master?'  'Turner,'  was  the  reply.  'Is  he  deaf 
and  dumb  ? '  inquired  the  President.  '  Yes/  '  And 
you  want  to  turn  him  out?'  Said  he,  'Yes.' 
'Well  that  ends  it!  I  won't  do  it.  There  are 
2,000  post-offices  in  Virginia.  You  may  have 
i, 999  of  them.  This  one  is  mine.  D-n  Walker- 
ton.  That  man  is  deaf  and  dumb.  And  he 
breaks  John  Wise's  dogs.  Turning  him  out  would 
be  as  mean  as  striking  a  woman.  I  will  not  do  it. 
Good-day,  gentlemen.'  And  he  turned  on  his 
heel  and  walked  away,  leaving  them  utterly 
dumbfounded." 

It  was  the  first  I  had  heard  of  it.  It  probably 
explains  in  some  degree  why  Congressman  Jones 
became  an  enemy  of  Cleveland,  and  how  he  became 
such  an  ardent  silverite  and  advocate  of  Bryan. 

One  night,  years  afterward,  I  told  the  story  in  a 
party  at  which  Mr.  Cleveland  was  present,  and  he 
laughed  his  jolly,  shaking  laugh,  commenting  at 
its  conclusion:  "  Those  fellows  made  as  big  a  row 
over  that  little  post-office  as  if  it  had  been  First 
Auditor  of  the  Treasury." 

Since  the  retirement  of  Cleveland  from  office, 
I  have  seen  much  more  of  him  than  ever  before, 
and  I  have  always  found  him  a  congenial  com 
panion  and  kind  friend.  In  order  to  appreciate 


1 86  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

him  one  must  have  been  with  him  as  I  have.  On 
two  occasions  he  has  honored  me  by  visits  to 
my  shooting  and  fishing  place  in  Virginia.  First 
of  all  he  is  a  thorough  sportsman.  I  have  seen 
his  patience  tried  both  as  fisherman  and  gunner, 
and  in  this  quality  he  is  perfect.  He  has  had 
as  good  wild-fowl  shooting  as  any  man  in  the 
United  States,  yet  I  have  known  him  to  sit 
on  a  calm,  sunshiny  day,  in  a  duck- blind  for  ten 
consecutive  hours,  with  nothing  but  a  simple 
luncheon  to  break  his  fast  and  nothing  but 
whistlers  and  buffle-heads  coming  in  to  his  decoys, 
and  return  home  at  night  with  nothing  but  a  dozen 
"  trash  "  ducks,  as  the  gunners  call  them,  as  content 
and  uncomplaining  as  if  he  had  enjoyed  real  sport. 
Then,  on  a  fishing  excursion,  I  have  seen  him 
when  the  boat  went  aground;  when  the  bait  gave 
out;  when  the  oil  in  the  steam-launch  became 
exhausted  and  we  were  delayed  several  hours; 
when  we  were  caught  in  a  summer  squall;  in  all 
sorts  of  trying  and  worrying  predicaments;  and 
no  man  in  the  party  took  his  "  streak  of  lean  along 
with  his  streak  of  fat"  more  stoically  or  more 
complacently  than  Mr.  Cleveland.  On  one  of  our 
excursions  a  dear  little  fellow  from  the  neighbour 
hood  was  of  the  party.  He  had  good  dogs,  and 
had  joined  us  to  aid  in  giving  the  ex- President 
good  sport.  He  was  the  very  opposite  of  Mr. 
Cleveland  in  physique.  The  two  conceived  a  great 
fancy  for  each  other,  and  as  Mr.  Cleveland  was 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  187 

particularly  anxious  to  do  some  quail  shooting  they 
sallied  forth  together,  presenting  a  most  amusing 
contrast  as  the  big  ex- President  walked  along  with 
a  companion  at  his  side  looking  like  his  little  boy. 
But  the  birds  had  been  badly  shot  off,  and  the  ex- 
President  was  not  a  first-class  pedestrian,  so  I 
think  they  had  but  indifferent  sport.  To  my  sur 
prise,  I  found  that  Mr.  Cleveland  ate  very  moder 
ately  and  was  even  abstemious  in  the  use  of  liquors. 
In  the  latter  respect  he  has  been  grossly  misrepre 
sented.  He  shone  best  in  the  evening  gatherings, 
when  the  cigars  were  lit  and  merry  conversation 
went  round.  He  is  one  of  those  men  who  loves 
companionship,  and  seems  to  inspire  good  fellow 
ship  without  at  any  time  taking  an  active  part  in 
the  conversation  himself.  What  he  most  enjoyed 
was  a  game  of  cribbage  with  his  devoted  friend, 
Commodore  Benedict,  while  the  others  of  us  kept 
up  a  running  fire  of  anecdote  and  reminiscence. 
He  seems  to  possess  the  faculty  of  paying  attention 
to  his  game  and  at  the  same  time  enjoying  to  the 
full  the  conversation  about  him.  I  think  I  never 
saw  any  man  who  delighted  as  he  does  in  negro 
dialect  stories,  and  I  had  one  story  about  the  burial 
of  Corporal  Billy  Gilliam  which  the  President  has 
made  me  repeat  to  him  I  think  a  dozen  times.  I 
can  see  him  now,  in  fancy,  with  his  eyes  shut  until 
they  were  like  mere  slits  in  his  face,  his  ex 
pressive  mouth  puckered  in  laugh-provoking  merri 
ment  and  his  body  shaking  all  over,  as  I  told  him 


1 88  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

about  the  band  btirying  Billy  to  the  tune  of 
"  Hop  Light,  Ladies."  There  is,  too,  a  serious  and 
most  attractive  side  to  the  ex-President,  which  I 
will  venture  to  mention.  In  our  strolls  about  the 
beautiful  Cape,  we  sometimes  talked  of  the  difficul 
ties  of  the  Presidential  office.  I  recall  one  evening 
when  we  were  out  walking  alone.  He  was  inter 
ested  in  some  of  the  farm  work,  and  we  had  been 
to  inspect  it.  The  sun  had  set  across  the  noble 
Chesapeake,  which  lies  to  westward,  and  we 
strolled  along  in  the  brilliant  afterglow.  He 
enjoyed  the  sight  of  the  water  and  the  great  pines 
and  the  light  of  the  gloaming.  Suddenly  he  said : 
"  Do  you  know  that  I  ought  to  have  a  monument 
over  me  when  I  die?"  "I  am  sure  of  that,  Mr. 
President,"  I  answered,  "but  for  what  particular 
service?"  "Oh!  Not  for  anything  I  have  ever 
done,"  said  he,  "but  for  the  foolishness  I  have  put 
a  stop  to.  If  you  knew  the  absurd  things  proposed 
to  me  at  various  times  while  I  have  been  in  public 
life,  and  which  I  sat  down — and  sat  down  hard— 
upon,  you  would  say  so  too!"  I  knew  full  well 
that  what  he  said  was  true,  and,  although  I  need 
not  enter  into  any  details,  this  country  does  owe 
Mr.  Cleveland  an  everlasting  debt  of  gratitude  for 
having  driven  what  President  Harrison  described 
as  a  "wild  team"  safely  to  the  end  of  his  journey. 
I  observed  in  Mr.  Cleveland  an  inexpressible 
tenderness  for  his  family.  He  frequently  talked 
in  the  sweetest  way  of  his  wife  and  his  children. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  189 

The  political  world  has  never  dealt  kindly  with 
Mr.  Cleveland.  The  press  has  seemed  at  times  to 
delight  in  circulating  rumours  and  aspersions  about 
his  family  relations.  No  doubt  at  times  Mr. 
Cleveland  has  been  brusque  and  peremptory — rude, 
if  you  like  the  term  better — with  certain  people, 
but  that  gave  them  no  excuse  for  lying  about  him, 
invading  the  sanctity  of  his  domestic  life,  and 
circulating  false  stories  about  his  wife  and  children. 
Perhaps  it  was  done  with  devilish  malignity  to 
wound  him  in  a  point  where  they  knew  he  was 
vulnerable.  For,  much  as  the  public  has  been 
encouraged  to  look  upon  Mr.  Cleveland  as  inca 
pable  of  the  finer  sensibilities,  I  never  saw  a  man 
who  had  family  pride  and  affection  more  fully 
developed,  or  who  felt  more  keenly  the  injustice  of 
such  assaults.  This  sort  of  attack,  mean  and  low 
as  it  is,  brings  malice  its  satisfaction,  and  the 
public  little  knows  the  torture  which  it  inflicts  upon 
public  men.  Few  men  are  exempt  from  its  virus. 
Perhaps  no  two  men  of  our  day  were  generally  sup 
posed  to  be  more  impervious  to  the  sting  of 
slander  than  General  Benjamin  F.  Butler  and 
Colonel  Robert  G.  Ingersoll.  I  knew  them  both 
well,  and  I  can  truly  say  that  I  believe  they  were 
about  as  thin-skinned  and  sensitive  to  criticism 
as  any  two  men  I  ever  saw,  and  that  it  made  them 
as  wretched  as  any  two  men  I  ever  knew.  I  have 
not  mentioned  them  in  connection  with  Mr. 
Cleveland  because  there  was  any  sort  of  similarity 


1 9o  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

between  them  and  him,  but  to  emphasize  the  point 
that  this  sort  of  traduction  is  a  powerful  instrument 
of  torture  to  men  in  public  life,  and  that  it  is  a 
great  mistake  to  imagine  that  its  falsehood,  or  their 
vanity  or  insensibility  or  even  consciousness  of 
right,  much  lessens  the  sting  of  its  injustice. 

I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  how  it  had  em 
bittered  Mr.  Cleveland.  On  one  occasion,  soon 
after  President  McKinley's  death,  we  were  dis 
cussing  it,  and  all  agreed  that  it  was  a  sad, 
sad  thing  to  see  a  man  so  happy  and  with  so 
much  to  live  for,  and  so  beloved,  cut  down  in  the 
bloom  of  his  life  and  strength.  Mr.  Cleveland  took 
part  in  the  conversation.  "I  don't  know,"  said 
he  "  whether,  after  all,  McKinley's  life,  sad  as  was 
its  ending,  was  not,  taking  into  consideration 
everything,  to  be  envied.  It  is  true  he  was  struck 
down  by  an  assassin.  But  he  never  was  'assas 
sinated'  in  his  lifetime.  Think  of  the  kindness 
with  which  he  and  his  wife  were  always  treated 
while  he  lived.  There  was  nothing  lovable  and 
kind  that  could  be  uttered  about  him  or  her 
which  was  not  said  at  all  times.  Somehow  he 
seemed  to  possess  the  faculty  of  evoking  charitable 
judgment  and  kind  treatment.  If  I  could  have 
had  that  sort  of  thing  as  long  and  as  uniformly 
as  he  did,  I  believe  I  would  have  been  willing 
to  pay  the  price  he  has  paid.  I  do  not  understand 
how  some  men  have  the  milk  of  human  kindness 
always  offered  to  their  lips,  while  others,  without 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  191 

deserving  less  charitable  treatment,  have  the  cup 
of  gall  and  wormwood  thrust  upon  them  constantly. 
Bodily  death  is  by  no  means  the  worst  tor 
ture  which  a  man  can  suffer.  The  torture  of 
lies  and  misrepresentations  affecting  what  is 
dearest  to  us  in  life  is  infinitely  worse  than  the 
mere  physical  pain  of  dying."  I  do  not  pretend 
that  these  were  his  exact  words,  but  they  give  the 
substance  of  his  speech,  and  when  I  heard  that  cry 
of  a  strong  man  in  his  agony  I  wished  that  every 
kindly  heart  in  this  broad  land  could  have  heard 
it.  It  would  have  been  a  final  refutation  of  the 
dirty  and  disreputable  falsehoods  which  small 
malice  has  industriously  whispered  against  him 
and  his  loved  ones  at  times,  even  in  the  remotest 
corners  of  the  land  he  has  served  so  well.  But 
thank  God  such  calumnies  have  never  undermined 
the  faith  of  the  people  in  the  manhood,  the  in 
tegrity,  the  honesty  of  Cleveland.  With  the 
single  exception  perhaps  of  his  young  successor, 
Roosevelt,  he  has  a  stronger  hold  upon  the  masses 
than  any  man  in  all  America,  and  the  importance 
he  gave  to  the  slanders  referred  to  sprang,  perhaps, 
in  great  degree  from  over-sensitiveness. 


BENJAMIN    HARRISON 


XL-BENJAMIN  HARRISON 

I  KNEW  General  Harrison  for  some  years  before 
he  was  elected  to  the  Presidency. 

He  was  a  Senator  from  Indiana  when  I  was  in 
the  lower  house.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of 
Doctor  Scott,  who  had  been  professor  at  Washing 
ton  College,  Pennsylvania,  when  my  father  was 
a  student  there,  and  remembered  him  well  and 
kindly.  The  Harrison  family  and  our  own  in 
Virginia  were  connected  in  many  ways,  and 
Senator  Harrison  was  my  political  friend  and  a 
firm  believer  in  the  possibility  of  building  up  a 
strong,  respectable  Republican  party  in  Virginia. 
From  all  these  causes  I  knew  him  fairly  well- 
as  well,  I  presume,  as  most  people  knew  him,  for 
he  was  not  an  approachable  man  and  had  few 
intimate  friendships.  Benjamin  Harrison  illus 
trated  a  phase  of  human  nature  which  is  very 
common.  He  seemed  desirous  of  being  considered 
just  what  he  was  not  and  that  which  he  could  not 
be,  however  hard  he  might  try — a  Virginia 
Harrison.  True,  his  grandfather  was  a  Virginia 
Harrison.  The  Senator,  while  not  ostentatious 
about  it,  loved  to  talk  with  those  he  knew  well, 
about  the  Virginia  Harrisons  and  was  evidently 
proud,  and  justly  so,  of  a  connection  which  included 

195 


196  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

so  many  typical  and  representative  Virginians.  In 
a  word,  in  his  innermost  heart  it  pleased  him  to  feel 
that  he  was  one  of  them.  He  did  indeed  have  two 
prominent  traits  of  the  Harrisons,  for  he  was 
fond  of  shooting  and  a  religious  enthusiast,  and 
many  of  them  have  been  sportsmen  and  religious 
enthusiasts.  He  utterly  lacked  another  prominent 
family  trait,  for  many  of  the  Virginia  branch  have 
dearly  loved  whisky.  My  father,  who  knew  them 
all  and  loved  them,  but  had  a  way  of  saying  what 
he  pleased,  generalized  Harrison  traits  by  saying 
that  he  never  knew  a  Harrison  who  was  not  a 
gentleman,  but  that  they  were  inclined  to  run 
to  extremes — some  in  the  love  of  God,  and  others 
in  the  love  of  whisky.  It  was  a  great  and  a  good 
family  of  people,  and  the  individuals  composing 
it  were  lovable,  whether  possessed  by  spiritual  or 
spirituous  fervour.  The  pride  of  General  Harrison 
in  being  a  member  of  it  was  perfectly  natural. 
But  he  overlooked  the  fact  that  he  had  a  mother 
as  well  as  a  father,  when  he  thought  he  was  a 
Virginia  Harrison.  His  mother  was  from  a  typical 
New  England  family,  and  if  there  is  a  place  in  the 
world  where  the  New  Englander  is  more  of  a  New 
Englander  than  he  is  in  New  England,  it  is  the 
Western  Reserve  of  Ohio,  where  Benjamin  Harrison 
was  born  and  reared  by  a  mother  of  New  England 
descent. 

In  appearance,  in  manners    in  everything  but 
name,   he  was  as  unlike  a  Virginian   as  a  man 


BENJAMIN   HARRISON 
Twenty-third  president  of  the  United  States  (1889-93). 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  197 

could  well  be.  I  must  not  be  understood  as  infer 
ring  by  this  that  it  was  to  his  disadvantage.  I  simply 
state  the  fact  without  drawing  or  inferring  any  con 
clusion  from  it,  because  I  think  he  would  have 
liked  to  be  considered  just  what  he  was  not. 

The  Virginia  Harrisons  were  as  a  class  fine, 
strapping  men.  In  my  day  I  recall  many  hand 
some  specimens.  There  was  old  Mr.  Peyton 
Harrison  of  Clifton,  who  looked  like  Moses  or 
Aaron;  Mr.  William  B.  Harrison  of  Brandon, 
a  singularly  lovable  man;  Julian  Harrison,  the 
handsomest  officer  in  Stuart's  cavalry;  "Red" 
Randolph  of  Elk  Hill,  and  "Black"  Randolph 
of  Amphill;  William  M.  Harrison  and  Wirt 
Harrison  of  Richmond;  and  Carter  Harrison, 
"  Black  George,"  "  Big  George,"  "  Little  George," 
Burleigh  and  Shirley,  and  Lord  knows  how  many 
more.  All  large-framed,  open-eyed,  splendid 
specimens  of  men.  Some  spiritually  and  some 
spirituously  inclined,  but  all  gentlemen  of  singular 
suavity  and  all  typical  Virginians.  I  never  saw  but 
one  Virginia  Harrison  resembling  the  President 
in  physique,  and  that  was  the  late  Dr.  George 
Byrd  Harrison,  formerly  of  Brandon,  but  for  years 
before  his  death  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

Benjamin  Harrison  was  in  stature  a  small  man. 
He  was  what,  in  horses,  would  be  known  as  an 
undersized,  pony -built  sorrel,  with  flaxen  mane 
and  tail.  He  did  not  look  either  strong  or  healthy. 
His  hair  and  beard  and  eyelashes  were  sandy  and 


198  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

had  a  sunburnt  look.  He  was  dish-faced,  and 
his  eyes  were  small,  bright,  and  with  a  cunning 
look  that  gave  little  outward  expression  of  the 
great  power  which  the  man  unquestionably  pos 
sessed.  His  form  was  not  imposing.  He  was 
generally  attired  in  a  black,  double-breasted  coat 
buttoned  across  an  obtrusive  up-standing  little 
stomach.  He  showed  an  inclination  to  round 
shoulders,  and  stood  reared  back,  creating  the 
impression  of  a  small  man  trying  to  look  large. 
During  his  Senatorial  days  he  was  an  unsociable, 
solitary,  dreamy  man.  I  have  more  than  once 
observed  him  pacing  up  and  down  the  grass- 
plot  in  front  of  his  Washington  residence,  his 
hands  interlocked  behind  him,  looking  as  if  lost  in 
dreams  and  abstractions,  and  at  such  times  his 
most  intimate  friend  might  pass  near  him  without 
receiving  the  slightest  recognition.  Respect  every 
body  had  for  him,  but  few  felt  any  affection  for 
him.  He  was  an  industrious  worker  in  the  Senate 
and  wielded  decided  influence.  He  was  a  well- 
trained,  sound  and  astute  lawyer.  In  private  con 
versation  his  voice  was  inclined  to  a  nasal  drawl, 
but  this  disappeared  when  he  spoke  in  public. 
There  was  a  coldness  and  indifference  in  his 
manner  in  private  which  was  very  repellent,  and 
absolutely  different  from  the  effect  he  produced 
when  speaking.  He  was  not  only  one  of  the 
wisest  men  of  his  time  in  all  his  public  utterances, 
but,  in  public  speaking,  he  wrarmed  up  and 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  199 

grew  up  to  his  thoughts  in  such  manner  that 
none  of  his  contemporaries  surpassed  him  in 
the  power  of  arousing  the  enthusiasm  of  an 
audience. 

The  story  was  told — how  true  it  was  I  do  not  know 
—that  in  one  of  his  railroad  campaigns  through 
Indiana  he  was  making  a  series  of  those  remarkable 
speeches  for  which  he  became  famous,  and  at 
every  place  he  stopped  the  crowds  who  listened 
would  become  wildly  enthusiastic.  Then  he  would 
hold  a  reception  in  the  car  and  the  people,  after 
shaking  hands  with  him,  would  pass  out  of  the 
other  end  of  the  car  silent  and  depressed,  as  if 
suffering  from  a  chill.  A  wag  in  the  party,  who 
was  particularly  anxious  that  the  good  effect  of 
his  speech  should  not  be  lost  in  a  certain  town, 
pulled  the  bell-rope  and  started  the  train  as  soon 
as  Harrison  stopped  speaking.  When  chided  for 
it  he  said:  " Don't  talk  to  me.  I  know  my 
business.  Ben  Harrison  had  the  crowd  red-hot. 
I  did  not  want  him  to  freeze  it  out  of  them  with 
his  hand-shaking." 

This  peculiarly  repellent  manner  of  General 
Harrison  was  the  subject  of  constant  ridicule 
among  his  political  adversaries.  The  following 
quip  of  a  bright  young  Democratic  Congressman 
from  Indiana  is  too  good  to  omit.  One  day  I 
mentioned  a  talk  I  had  had  with  the  then  Senator. 
"Did  he  look  yon  in  the  eyes?"  asked  the  young 
Congressman.  "  Really  I  cannot  say  whether  he 


200  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

did  or  not,"  said  I.  But  I  had  noticed  this 
peculiarity.  In  talking  to  one  the  Senator  had 
the  habit  of  looking  down,  or  looking  over  one's 
shoulder,  or  looking  away,  as  if  in  abstraction, 
only  glancing  at  his  interlocutor  now  and  then 
with  a  sort  of  furtive  or  secretive  or  cunning  look. 
"Oh!  Get  out,"  said  the  saucy  fellow.  "You 
know  he  didn't.  He  never  does.  He  reminds 
me  of  the  pig  that  sees  the  wind."  "  Now  what  do 
you  mean  by  that?"  I  exclaimed,  my  curiosity 
excited.  He  answered:  "Why,  you  were  raised  in 
the  country.  Don't  you  know  how  the  pigs  in 
winter  time,  when  a  nor'easter  is  blowing,  stand 
with  their  noses  pointing  to  the  breeze  and  with 
eyes  half  shut,  squeal  and  squeal.  When  the 
niggers  see  'em  doing  that  they  say,  '  Dar,  look  at 
him.  He  can  see  de  wind.'  That's  just  like  Ben 
Harrison  when  he's  talking  to  you." 

Another  thing  about  Senator  Harrison  was  the 
impression  which  he  created  that  he  was  not  a 
happy  man.  He  certainly  ought  not  to  have 
been  a  disappointed  man,  for  in  most  things  he 
was  blessed ;  and  he  may  not  have  been  unhappy, 
but  he  did  not  seem  to  be  possessed  of  great 
capacity  for  happiness.  He  had  a  sweet  home 
and  a  lovely  wife  and  daughter  and  was  devoted 
to  his  little  grandchild,  whom  everybody  knew 
as  "Baby  McKee."  But  he  no  doubt  had  his 
disappointments,  as  other  people  have,  and  we  will 
not  discuss  what  they  were.  When  the  National 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  201 

Republican  Convention  of  1888  assembled  in 
Chicago,  I  went  from  Virginia  with  a  contesting 
delegation,  and  as  the  result  of  the  contest  became 
chairman  of  the  Virginia  delegation.  The  prom 
inent  candidates  were  Mr.  Sherman,  Mr.  Elaine 
and  Mr.  Gresham.  General  Harrison  had  a  fair 
local  support,  and  General  Alger's  friends  put  him 
forward  with  great  enthusiasm.  If  ever  a  man 
deserved  a  nomination  for  long  and  faithful  service 
it  was  John  Sherman.  All  my  predilections  were 
for  him.  But  he  never  had  the  ghost  of  a  show. 
In  the  first  place,  the  cold  temperament  of  Mr. 
Sherman  prevented  his  having  ardent  friends. 
The  Ohio  delegation  was  not  united  in  sincere 
advocacy  of  his  claims,  and  some  of  them  were 
ready,  from  the  start,  to  desert  him  for  Elaine  or 
Harrison  or  McKinley.  At  one  time  a  demonstra 
tion  was  started  in  the  Convention  in  favour  of 
McKinley  which  might  have  assumed  formidable 
proportions,  but  he  rose  in  his  seat  .and  in  an 
impassioned  way  begged  the  Convention  not  to 
put  him  in  a  false  position.  He  said  that  no 
power  on  earth  would  tempt  him  to  betray  his 
aged  friend,  Mr.  Sherman,  and  that  it  was  an  out 
rage  upon  him  to  place  him  in  the  attitude  of  even 
submitting  quietly  to  such  a  suggestion.  But 
the  Alger  men  had  no  qualms  of  conscience  about 
making  inroads  upon  Mr.  Sherman's  delegates. 
Alger's  people  opened  a  fine  headquarters,  and  the 
way  the  Southern  negro  delegates,  who  had  come 


202  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

instructed  for  Sherman,  swarmed  to  the  Michigan 
man's  standard  and  came  away  bearing  Alger 
badges  on  their  breasts  was  the  very  irony  of 
fate.  Sherman  had  championed  the  rights  of  the 
black  man  for  thirty  years;  yet,  when  the  time 
to  reward  him  came,  they  betrayed  him  for  thirty 
pieces  of  silver,  in  the  face  of  positive  instructions. 
Such  treatment  must  have  embittered  his  last 
days. 

It  was  evident  that  Sherman  must  be  dropped, 
and  Alger  never  had  any  chance.  Gresham  had 
friends,  but  that  he  also  was  weak  and  had  enemies 
was  demonstrated  by  an  episode  that  occurred 
with  Colonel  Bob  Ingersoll.  Ingersoll  was  not  a 
delegate,  but  in  the  recess  of  the  Convention 
distinguished  men  were  called  upon  to  make  short 
addresses.  No  man  had  a  higher  reputation  as 
a  platform  orator  than  Ingersoll  and  he  was 
exceedingly  popular.  When  he  came  to  the 
speakers'  stand  there  was  a  whirlwind  of  applause, 
which  was  converted  into  absolute  silence  as  he 
began  to  speak.  His  utterances  caught  the  im 
mense  gathering  from  the  start,  and  after  he  saw 
he  had  his  audience  well  in  hand  he  began  to 
picture,  in  his  inimitable  way,  his  conception  of 
the  qualities  which  an  ideal  President  should 
possess.  It  was  a  gorgeous  piece  of  imagery,  and 
we  almost  caught  our  breath  as  he  reached  his 
climax.  Then,  with  an  impressive  pause,  he  rose 
to  his  full  height  and  exclaimed:  "If  asked  who, 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  203 

in  all  America,  possesses  preeminently  these 
transcendent  attributes  of  statesmanship,  I  would 
answer,  without  a  moment's  pause,  Walter  Q. 
Gresham!" 

There  was  a  moment  of  silence,  for  the  trick  was 
so  deftly  turned  that  the  real  significance  of  all 
he  had  been  saying  was  not  comprehended  until 
that  instant.  Then  pandemonium  broke  loose. 
Of  course  the  Greshamites  tried  to  cheer,  but 
everybody  not  for  Gresham  felt  that  Ingersoll 
had  availed  himself  of  a  courtesy  to  usurp  the 
function  of  a  delegate  and  create  a  diversion  in 
favour  of  his  friend.  There  were  yells,  and  hisses, 
and  cat-calls,  and  cries  of  "put-him-out,"  and 
cheering  for  every  other  candidate,  until  Ingersoll, 
after  vainly  trying  to  proceed,  left  the  platform  and 
came  out  of  the  Auditorium,  mad  as  a  hatter  and 
denouncing  the  crowd  in  such  a  string  of  oaths  as 
only  he  could  invoke.  Ingersoll  felt  that  insult 
all  his  life,  and  I  never  thought  he  was  as  enthusi 
astic  a  Republican  afterward.  It  was  perhaps  the 
only  time  in  his  whole  life  that  an  audience  broke 
away  from  the  spell  of  his  captivating  oratory 
and  refused  to  listen  to  him  further,  although  he 
had  often  spoken  shocking  things  to  hostile 
hearers. 

Elaine  was  abroad  and  in  bad  health.  But  he 
had  a  majority  of  the  convention.  Some  of  his 
friends  established  communication  with  him.  I 
think  he  was  in  Florence.  They  beseeched  him 


204  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

to  allow  them  to  use  his  name,  and  assured  him 
of  the  nomination.  While  awaiting  his  response 
an  informal  conference  was  held,  presided  over 
by  Foraker  of  Ohio,  to  ascertain  how  many  votes 
might  be  relied  upon  for  Elaine  if  his  name  was 
placed  in  nomination.  Some  amusing  things 
occurred.  There  was  an  inquiry  by  States.  When 
Louisiana  was  called,  a  coal-black  giant  arose, 
and  this  is  about  what  he  said:  "  Mr.  Cheerman, 
I  don't  hardly  know  how  to  answer  for  Looseanner. 
When  we  fust  cum  here  we  wus  all  for  Mr.  Elaine. 
He  is  de  chile  o'  our  hearts.  But  when  de  news 
wus  dat  he  weren't  gwine  to  be  in  de  runnin'  de 
boys  begun  to  do  a  little  stroke  of  business  fur 
derselves,  an'  I  kaint  rightly  tell  you  jess  how  de 
delligashun  will  stand  on  de  fust  ballot,  fur  I 
expects  a  good  many  o'  de  boys  has  made  dere 
contracks  fur  at  least  one  mo'  ballot  and  wouldn't 
like  to  break  'em.  But,  sir,  I  knows  wher  dar 
hearts  is,  and,  if  you'll  jess  give  'em  time  to  plow 
out  dere  rows,  I  is  sho'  dey'll  all  be  back  to 
Mr.  Elaine  by  de  time  de  second  ballot  comes." 
A  roar  of  laughter  greeted  this  announcement. 

Elaine's  answer  came,  positively  declining  the 
nomination  on  the  score  of  ill  health.  He  was 
right,  for  he  died  soon  afterward.  Then  we 
determined  to  unite  on  Harrison,  and  he  was  soon 
nominated.  Immediately  in  front  of  us  sat  the 
Vermont  delegation.  It  was  solid  from  first  to 
last  in  favour  of  Harrison,  and  Redfield  Proctor, 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  205 

the  chairman,  never  failed,  one  very  roll-call,  to 
deliver  in  deep  stentorian  voice  this  answer: 
"Vermont  casts  her  eight  votes  solidly  for  Ben 
jamin  Harrison."  When  on  the  final  ballot 
Harrison  won,  Mr.  Proctor  received  a  great 
ovation,  and  Harrison  made  him  his  Secretary  of 
War.  I  there  formed  a  friendship  with  Mr. 
Proctor  which  has  lasted  until  the  present  day. 

It  fell  to  my  lot  to  make  one  of  the  speeches  in 
the  Convention,  ratifying  Harrison's  nomination. 
Everybody  was  feeling  well  and  I  did  my  best. 
It  must  have  been  a  taking  speech,  for  although  it 
was  made  nearly  seventeen  years  ago,  I  still  meet 
men  who  recall  with  flattering  vividness  my 
description  of  the  Virginia  thoroughbred  now  un- 
blanketed  and  led  out  upon  the  track  to  contest 
for  the  great  prize  with  the  long-fetlocked  New 
York  Conestoga. 

The  speech  was  only  extemporaneous,  and  I 
thought  at  the  time  it  was  original.  Since  then, 
reading  over  again  Shakespeare's  "  Venus  and 
Adonis,"  I  have  often  wondered  how  far  it  in 
fluenced  me  in  the  picture  I  drew.  I  had  not  read 
it  for  some  time  at  the  time  I  made  the  speech,  but 
am  satisfied  that  the  pigeon-holes  of  memory  are 
so  full  in  the  mind  of  every  man  who  reads  much 
that  he  frequently  uses  their  stores  without  being 
conscious  of  the  fact. 

At  any  rate,  the  speech  put  me  in  the  good 
graces  of  General  Harrison,  and  he  wrote  me  a 


206  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

nice  letter  of  acknowledgment  to  my  then  home  in 
Richmond,  Virginia.  Afterward  he  sent  my  oldest 
son  to  West  Point,  a  position  which  he  could  hardly 
have  hoped  for  if  he  had  depended  on  Congressional 
appointment.  I  removed  to  New  York  to  live 
in  the  autumn  of  1888,  and  business  called  me  to 
Indianapolis  before  General  Harrison's  inaugura 
tion.  He  welcomed  me  very  kindly  to  his  home, 
and  I  had  a  pleasant  dinner  with  the  family. 
One  little  circumstance  I  recall  most  vividly. 
General  Harrison  prided  himself  upon  his  carving. 
He  had  a  turkey  before  him,  and  whetted  his  knife 
with  great  particularity.  He  was  an  adept,  but 
worked  differently  from  anyone  else  I  ever  saw 
carve.  With  a  very  sharp  knife  he  sliced  the 
breast  of  the  bird,  at  right  angles  to  the  breast 
bone,  until  it  was  thoroughly  divided.  Then  he 
made  a  deep  incision  lengthwise  along  the  line 
of  the  breast-bone,  and  with  the  full  length  of  the 
blade  separated  the  whole  half  of  the  breast  from 
the  body  and  lifted  it  to  a  dish,  where  it  lay  already 
carved  transversely.  "  Did  you  ever  see  anybody 
else  do  that?"  said  he,  with  manifest  pride.  I 
truthfully  told  him  that  I  never  did,  and  I'm  glad 
I  did  not,  for  cross-cut  turkey  is  not  half  as  good  as 
turkey  carved  with  the  fibre  of  the  flesh. 

Soon  after  his  inauguration  the  President  noti 
fied  me  of  his  purpose  to  nominate  my  son  as  a 
cadet  to  West  Point.  His  kindness  was  too  prompt. 
I  had  not  expected  the  honour  until  the  following 


THIRTEEN  PRESIDENTS  207 

year.  The  boy  was  very  young,  almost  too  young, 
to  go.  I  thanked  the  President  and  inquired 
whether  I  might  not  postpone  acceptance  until 
the  following  year.  He  gave  me  no  encourage 
ment  to  hope  for  another  designation  and  said 
there  were  others  waiting,  so  as  it  was  a  "  now-or- 
never"  offer,  I  accepted,  and  for  five  years  that 
boy,  who  was  too  young  to  have  been  sent  there, 
hung  by  the  skin  of  his  eyelids  to  the  Military 
Academy,  and  finally  graduated.  During  all  that 
time  I  was  in  an  agony  of  apprehension  lest  he 
should  fail,  and  since  his  graduation  have  given 
West  Point  a  wide  berth.  It  is  the  coldest, 
hardest  spot  on  earth,  absolutely  free  from  all 
sentimental  consideration  in  its  exaction  that 
every  cadet  shall  attain  a  certain  standard. 
Of  course  that  is  right.  It  is  what  makes  West 
Point  what  it  is.  But  it  does  not  make  it  a  cheer 
ful,  loving  place  for  anybody,  especially  anybody 
in  trouble.  The  wheels  go  round,  and  anybody 
who  falls  under  them  is  ground  to  powder  without 
even  a  glance  backward  at  the  remains. 

President  Harrison  was  the  only  man  I  ever  saw 
who  could  do  another  man  a  favour  in  such  a  way 
that  all  the  sweetness  and  appreciation  and  sense 
of  gratitude  was  gone  from  it,  and  this  was  the 
trouble  with  him  in  many  instances.  His  personal 
characteristics  alienated  many  who  would  other 
wise  have  supported  him.  Mrs.  Harrison  died 
during  the  latter  part  of  his  term,  so  near  indeed 


208  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

to  the  time  of  election  that  I  do  not  doubt  his 
inability  on  that  account  to  make  a  series  of  cam 
paign  speeches  contributed  largely  to  his  defeat. 
Shortly  before  the  election  I  had  occasion  to 
write  to  him  upon  a  matter  somewhat  confidential, 
pertaining  to  the  conduct  of  his  canvass  and 
received  a  characteristic  letter  which,  while  it  was 
exceedingly  kind,  shows  the  sublime  self-confidence 
of  the  man.  Somehow  he  did  not  possess  the 
faculty  of  attaching  subordinates  to  him.  And 
while  his  selections  of  his  Cabinet  were  in  the 
main  wise,  many  of  his  smaller  appointments 
were  of  men  who  were  not  loyal  to  him  and  who 
misrepresented  him.  At  times,  when  he  detected 
them,  he  was  very  direct  and  offensive  to  them. 
I  recall  an  instance  in  which  a  subordinate  had 
made  representations  to  me  which  upon  conference 
with  the  President  I  found  were  untrue.  Unfortu 
nately  for  the  offender,  he  put  in  an  appearance 
while  I  was  in  the  President's  office  and, being  inter 
rogated  in  my  presence,  could  not  deny  his  guilt. 
I  never  heard  anybody  rebuke  another  more 
severely  than  the  President  rebuked  him;  but  for 
some  reason,  perhaps  political,  the  fellow  was 
retained.  He  ought  to  have  been  summarily 
dismissed.  He  was  a  traitor  to  the  Administra 
tion  before  that,  and  no  doubt  hated  the  President 
afterward.  The  service  was  filled  with  men  like  him, 
and  the  secret  influence  of  such  antagonists  no 
doubt  contributed  to  President  Harrison's  defeat. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  209 

President  Harrison  was  not  a  great  man.  He 
possessed  political  sagacity  to  a  marked  degree, 
and  in  that  sense  may  be  justly  classed  as  a  wise 
man ;  but  his  was  the  wisdom  of  intense  selfishness 
and  caution,  which  distinctly  differs  from  the 
broad,  generous  wisdom  of  really  great  men. 

He  was  in  no  sense  a  bad  man.  On  the  con 
trary,  he  commanded  the  respect  and  the  confidence 
of  those  who  knew  him  most  intimately.  But 
there  was  a  singular  lack  of  personal  magnetism 
in  the  man  or  enthusiasm  for  the  man,  even 
among  those  who  were  his  ardent  political 
supporters. 


WILLIAM    McKINLEY 


XII.— WILLIAM  McKINLEY 

ONE  of  the  first  men  with  whom  I  became  ac 
quainted  when  I  entered  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  as  a  member  was  William  McKinley,  then 
called  by  all  his  associates  Major  McKinley,  and  it 
came  about  in  this  wise: 

At  the  close  of  the  war  a  gentleman  named 
Louis  Schaefer,  a  resident  of  Canton,  Ohio,  opened 
a  correspondence  with  my  father.  Mr.  Schaefer 
was  one  of  the  best  men  I  ever  knew.  He  was  a 
German.  Although  he  resided  in  Ohio  he  thor 
oughly  sympathised  with  the  South  throughout 
the  war,  and  now  that  she  was  defeated  he  ex 
pressed  himself  as  anxious  to  contribute  out  of  his 
abundance  to  the  relief  of  her  poverty.  Soon 
after  the  war  ended  he  and  his  wife  visited 
Richmond  for  the  sole  purpose  of  meeting  my 
father  personally.  At  his  home  in  Canton  he  was 
universally  regarded  as  a  public-spirited  citizen, 
and  although  his  views  antagonised  the  Union  senti 
ment  about  him,  and  no  doubt  made  enemies  by 
the  boldness  with  which  he  expressed  his  opinions, 
he  nevertheless  commanded  the  respect  of  his  com 
munity  and  a  great  deal  of  affection.  My  father 
was  interested  in  an  asylum  for  the  care  of  orphans 

of    Confederate    soldiers.     Mr.    Schaefer   made   a 

213 


2i4  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

handsome  contribution  to  that  object.  He  was 
always  actively  interested  in  politics,  and  corres 
ponded  voluminously  with  my  father  on  the  sub 
ject.  About  1870  he  induced  my  nephew,  after  his 
graduation  in  law,  to  go  to  Canton  to  practise  his 
profession,  and  he  became  a  member  of  Mr. 
Schaefer's  household  during  several  years  residence 
there.  I  may  mention  incidentally  that  one  of 
Mr.  Schaefer's  daughters  afterward  married  a 
young  attorney  named  William  R.  Day,  who  sub 
sequently  became  Attorney  General  and  Secretary 
of  State  under  McKinley  and  is  now  an  Associate 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 
When  my  nephew,  the  former  protege  of  Mr. 
Schaefer,  was  married,  about  1872,  Mr.  Schaefer 
came  to  his  wedding  near  Richmond  and  we  had  a 
jolly  time  together.  It  is  needless  to  add  that 
Mr.  Schaefer  was  a  rabid  Democrat,  and  that  in 
those  days  he  hated  Republicans  and  Republican 
ism,  and  thought  that  "  No  good  can  come  out  of 
Nazareth."  I  doubted,  when  I  became  a  Repub 
lican,  whether  I  should  have  the  endorsement  of  my 
father's  old  friend,  but  one  of  the  first  letters  of 
congratulation  which  I  received  was  from  Mr. 
Schaefer,  who  added  that  he  was  particularly 
anxious  I  should  meet  his  representative,  Major 
McKinley,  "the  only  Republican  I  support."  I 
was  naturally  anxious  to  know  one  whose  personal 
attractiveness  could  overcome  such  prejudices  as 
I  knew  Mr.  Schaefer  felt. 


Copyright,  igoo,  by  C.  Parker. 

WILLIAM  McKINLEY 

The  twenty-fifth  president  of  the  United  States.  Was  elected  in  1896  and 
reflected  in  1900.  Died  September  14,  1901,  during  the  second 
administration. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  215 

It  was  not  difficult  to  find  Major  McKinley.  He 
was  studiously  present  at  all  sessions,  a  clean 
shaven,  sweet-faced,  approachable  man,  who 
seemed  to  have  as  many  friends  on  one  side  of  the 
House  as  on  the  other.  Our  seats  were  near  to 
gether.  I  first  met  him  in  the  barber  shop  of  the 
House,  where  the  barbers  vied  with  each  other  to 
make  it  pleasant  for  the  Major.  He  was  lolling 
back  in  a  chair,  with  an  unlit  cigar  in  his  mouth, 
when  I  walked  up  to  him,  told  him  of  our  common 
acquaintance  and  introduced  myself.  McKinley 
was  a  genial  soul  and,  when  pleased,  had  a 
peculiar  light  in  his  eyes.  He  was  fond  of  Mr. 
Schaef er,  and  appreciated  the  exception  to  political 
prejudices  which  he  had  made  in  his  favour. 
From  that  hour  we  were  good  friends. 

One  day,  while  the  Fitz  John  Porter  case  was 
under  discussion  in  the  House,  McKinley  gave  a 
party  of  us  assembled  in  the  cloak-room  an  inter 
esting  account  of  how,  although  he  was  a  Union 
soldier  and  resident  of  Ohio,  he  became  a  Mason 
in  the  lodge  at  Winchester,  Virginia,  during  the 
war.  He  said  he  was  stationed  at  Winchester 
in  the  winter  of  1864,  and  that  Judge  Richard 
Parker,  a  citizen  of  the  town,  was  conspicuously 
active  in  alleviating  the  suffering  of  the  people. 
This  brought  him  into  frequent  contact  with  the 
Federal  authorities.  They  all  conceived  a  fondness 
for  the  old  gentleman,  which  he  in  turn  soon 
reciprocated.  One  of  the  Federal  officers  was 


216  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

a  prominent  Mason  and  discovered  that  Judge 
Parker  was  Master  of  the  Winchester  lodge. 
The  lodge  room  had  been  dismantled  and  was 
probably  occupied  by  Federal  troops,  but  the 
faithful  Master  had  all  the  paraphernalia  in  his 
possession.  The  Federal  officer  proposed  to  him 
to  re-open  the  lodge.  At  first,  as  a  loyal  Con 
federate,  he  opposed  the  idea,  but  at  last  yielded 
to  the  argument  that  Masonry  was  a  universal 
brotherhood,  and  that  its  teachings  would  be 
peculiarly  available  then  and  there  to  mitigate 
the  hardships  of  war.  So  the  lodge  was  re-opened, 
and  a  number  of  Masons  in  the  Federal  Army 
attended  its  meetings.  Masonry  became  a  fad 
among  the  uninitiated  in  Winchester,  and  Mc- 
Kinley,  among  others,  joined. 

McKinley  was  a  great  peacemaker.  He  dis 
couraged  all  kinds  of  acrimony  in  the  debates. 
I  am  afraid  I  cannot  say  the  same  for  myself.  I 
think  and  have  always  thought  that  it  is  a  good 
thing  now  and  then  to  tell  a  political  opponent 
just  what  you  think  of  him. 

One  day  I  had  a  royal  tilt  with  a  peppery  old 
member  from  Indiana,  who  threatened  that  when 
my  contest  was  reached  I  would  be  unseated. 
McKinley,  after  it  was  all  over,  took  occasion  to 
give  me  some  friendly  advice:  "Don't  allow  them 
to  draw  you  into  such  controversies.  No  good 
can  come  of  them.  You  may  provoke  them  into 
turning  you  out.  I  have  a  contest.  But  you 


THIRTEEN  PRESIDENTS  217 

never  hear  of  that.  I  go  on  about  my  business  and 
am  not  even  ashamed  to  make  myself  useful  by 
working  hard  on  their  committees.  You  ought  to 
do  the  same.  I  like  you  and  don't  want  to  see  you 
turned  out,  but,  if  you  taunt  them  and  defy  them, 
as  you  do,  you  will  tempt  them  to  unseat  you." 

My  case  was  never  voted  on.  One  day,  toward 
the  close  of  the  session,  Mr.  Turner  of  Georgia, 
chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Elections,  a  sallow 
taciturn  man,  with  no  bowels  of  mercy  for  a 
political  opponent,  called  up  the  contested  election 
case  of  Wallace  versus  McKinley  and,  after  a 
brief  debate,  in  which  no  sort  of  consideration 
was  shown  him,  McKinley  was  unseated.  His 
defeat  did  not  amount  to  much,  for  his  term  was 
nearly  ended,  and  he  was  already  re-elected  to  the 
next  House,  but  he  took  it  very  solemnly.  I  was 
sorry  for  him,  but  could  not  resist  a  little  badinage. 
I  passed  by  his  desk  where  he  stood  tying  up  his 
papers  preparing  to  depart,  with  the  resigned  air 
of  a  Christian  martyr.  "Old  fellow,"  said  I,  "I 
feel  awfully  about  this.  But  you  brought  it  all 
upon  yourself.  You  would  not  listen  to  my  advice. 
If  you  had  gone  along  quietly,  and  had  not 
attracted  attention  to  your  case  by  wrangling  and 
abusing  your  political  opponents,  you  might  have 
finished  your  term  undisturbed.  Look  at  me! 
Why  did  you  not  follow  my  example?" 

McKinley  had  big,  sad  eyes  when  he  was  de 
pressed.  Turning  them  toward  me  with  a  pained 


2i8  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

expression,  he  saw  no  joke  in  what  I  was  saying 
and  contented  himself  by  replying:  "I  think 
that  sort  of  thing  is,  under  the  circumstances, 
very  unkind.*'  When  the  sting  of  his  defeat  wore 
off  he  enjoyed  the  way  I  had  turned  the  tables  on 
him  and  fully  forgave  me. 

In  the  National  Convention  of  1888  I  saw  a  great 
deal  of  him.  After  his  indignant  rebuke  of  those 
who  tried  to  spring  a  nomination  upon  him,  when 
he  was  instructed  for  Sherman,  I  went  over  and 
sat  beside  him.  Said  I:  "I  never  felt  so  proud 
of  you  as  when  you  spurned  that  sort  of  double 
dealing.  Your  chance  will  come.  But  this  is  not 
the  time.  You  could  not  afford  to  take  such  a 
nomination." 

He  thanked  me,  took  my  Virginia  badge  off  my 
breast  and  pinned  his  in  its  place.  It  gave  me  an 
idea.  I  went  about  the  hall  and  procured  the 
badges  worn  by  numerous  leaders  from  different 
States  and  took  them  home  with  me,  for  my  wife 
to  make  a  crazy  quilt  of  them.  That  was  the 
passing  fad  of  that  day  among  ladies.  But 
although  I  still  have  the  badges  worn  by  McKinley, 
Secretary  Thompson  of  Indiana,  Senators  Quay, 
Allison  and  many  others,  they  have  not  yet  been 
worked  up  into  a  quilt. 

At  that  time  there  was  intense  rivalry  among  the 
factions  in  Ohio.  One  of  the  Ohio  leaders  saw 
McKinley  and  myself  talking  together.  He  per 
haps  tried  to  eavesdrop.  He  probably  caught  the 


Photograph  by  Charles  Parker,  Washington. 

"MARK"  HANNA 
U.  S.  Senator  from  Ohio  (1897-1905). 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  219 

words,  "  This  is  not  the  time."  I  may  mention  as 
illustrative  of  political  meanness  that  he  went  about 
whispering  that  the  demonstration  in  favour  of 
McKinley  had  been  planned,  and  was  known  in 
advance  to  McKinley,  and  that  he  heard  me  apolo 
gising  for  its  miscarriage  by  telling  him  it  had  not 
been  started  at  the  proper  time.  I  was  in  Colum 
bus,  Ohio,  the  day  of  McKinley's  inauguration  as 
Governor.  He  was  exceedingly  kind  to  me  and 
invited  me  to  accompany  him,  but  I  could  not 
do  so. 

On  the  22nd  of  February,  1894  or  1895,  Mc 
Kinley,  William  J.  Bryan  and  I  were  the  speakers 
at  the  banquet  of  the  Union  League  Club, 
Chicago.  McKinley  never  was  an  ornate  orator. 
I  heard  him  on  many  occasions  and  his  speeches, 
with  the  exception  of  those  on  the  tariff, 
concerning  which  he  was  always  interesting,  and 
one  speech  I  heard  him  deliver  to  veterans  at 
a  re-union  in  Buffalo,  were  not  very  attractive. 
Of  course  the  glamour  of  the  Presidency  makes 
ordinary  speeches  sound  fine  and  read  well,  but  I 
repeat  that  McKinley  was  no  orator.  And  the 
speech  made  that  night  by  William  Jennings 
Bryan  was  below,  rather  than  above,  mediocrity. 
It  was  a  distinct  disappointment,  and  he  said 
himself  that  it  was  a  failure.  I  had  heard  so 
much  of  him  that  I  was  sorely  disappointed. 
Since  then  he  has  undoubtedly  made  many 
stirring  appeals,  but  that  was  the  only  speech  I 


220  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

ever  heard  from  Bryan  from  beginning  to  end 
until  I  heard  him  speak  at  the  Gridiron  Club  in 
Washington  in  1905,  when  he  made  a  speech 
that  was  a  model  of  good  taste,  good  temper  and 
kind  feeling.  I  will  leave  it  to  someone  else,  if 
anybody  feels  interest  enough  in  the  subject  to 
refer  to  it  again,  to  tell  what  sort  of  speech  I  made. 
I  spoke  on  the  subject  of  George  Washington  the 
Virginian. 

During  the  two  years  prior  to  his  nomination  for 
the  Presidency  McKinley  was  frequently  in  New 
York.  He  usually  stopped  at  the  ill-fated  Windsor 
Hotel,  and  I  saw  a  great  deal  of  him.  I  remember 
particularly  one  visit  that  he  paid  to  my  house. 

Henry  Irving  had  been  civil  to  me  when  I  was 
in  London.  Some  time  in  the  winter  of  1894-5 
he  was  playing  in  New  York.  I  wras  anxious  to 
entertain  him,  but  the  only  way  to  get  at  him 
was  to  have  him  after  the  theatre.  I  lived  at  that 
time  in  a  small  house  in  Forty-fourth  Street.  I 
had  some  Chesapeake  Bay  terrapin,  Virginia  hams 
and  Old  Plantation  oysters.  Irving  and  his 
right  bower  Bram  Stoker,  a  prince  of  good  fellows, 
agreed  to  come,  and  my  first  idea  was  to  have 
half  a  dozen  friends  to  meet  them.  But  the  party 
expanded  until  I  think  we  had  when  we  assembled 
at  midnight  twenty-seven  men  present,  and  it  was 
a  remarkable  gathering.  I  do  not  recall  them  all, 
but  Elihu  Root,  General  Horace  Porter,  John  W. 
Mackay,  Colonel  Tom  Ochiltree,  Joe  Jefferson, 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  221 

William  J.  Florence,  Mr.  O.  D.  Minen  of  the 
Scientific  American,  and  John  Cadwalader  were 
of  the  party,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  in  came 
Governor  McKinley  and  his  staff.  On  his  staff 
were  the  present  Governor  of  Ohio,  Myron  T. 
Herrick,  and  Colonel  James  H.  Hoyt.  My  poor 
little  house  was  crowded  to  overflowing.  We 
found  it  necessary  to  place  card  tables  in  the 
drawing  room  to  accommodate  some  of  the  party. 
It  was  a  literal  go-as-you-please  entertainment, 
but  the  fare  was  good  and  the  company  took  it 
good-naturedly.  McKinley  particularly  enjoyed 
it.  It  was  an  all-night  affair.  Irving,  who  was  a 
night-owl,  stayed  until  five  o'clock  A.  M.  Some 
one  who  heard  of  it  jocularly  asked  him  why  he 
did  not  remain  for  breakfast.  With  a  look  of 
perplexity  and  a  characteristic  grimace  he  said, 
with  a  drawl,  "  How  could  I  ?  The  hot  water  gave 
out.  We  could  not  drink  cold  Scotch  whisky 
after  daybreak." 

On  many  occasions  afterward  McKinley  re 
ferred  to  the  hilarity  and  fun  of  that  night,  for 
while  he  himself  was  not  much  of  a  fun-maker  he 
enjoyed  bright  company. 

When  the  time  came  for  the  Presidential  Con 
vention  of  1896,  Senator  Platt  sought  to  secure 
a  solid  delegation  from  New  York  in  favor 
of  Governor  and  ex-Vice-President  Morton.  For 
some  reason  he  did  not  want  McKinley,  and  used 
Morton  as  a  pretext  for  his  opposition.  He  an- 


222  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

nounced  that  he  would  have  a  solid  Morton 
delegation,  but  six  McKinley  delegates  contested. 
As  I  recall  them,  they  were  Hon.  Cornelius  N. 
Bliss,  Colonel  S.  Van  Rensselaer  Cruger,  General 
Anson  G.  McCook,  General  C.  H.  T.  Collins,  William 
Brookfield,  and  I  forget  the  other.  I  was  selected 
as  the  lawyer  to  present  their  case  at  the  Conven 
tion.  Mr.  Bliss  and  Colonel  Cruger  came  to  an 
agreement  to  divide  with  Howard  Carroll  and 
William  Barnes,  their  opponents  and  friends,  but 
my  other  four  clients  were  seated  on  contest.  I 
also  represented  two  contestants  from  Virginia,  who 
were  given  half  seats.  We  had  a  jolly  good  time 
in  St.  Louis,  and,  as  I  was  not  a  delegate  and  my 
work  was  done,  I  left  before  the  Convention  com 
pleted  its  work.  The  last  man  I  saw  before  my 
departure  was  Hob  art,  who  was  nominated  Vice- 
President.  He  was  a  very  attractive  fellow.  On 
my  way  home  I  stopped  at  Canton  to  see  McKin 
ley.  He  welcomed  me  most  cordially,  and  I  spent 
some  hours  in  his  home  in  very  intimate  com 
munion  with  him.  Among  other  things  he  showed 
me  the  draft  of  the  gold  plank  in  the  Republi 
can  platform,  which  had  been  prepared  by  Mr. 
Kohlsaat  of  Chicago  a  week  before  the  convention 
met.  It  was  substantially  the  one  adopted,  and 
had  already  been  approved  by  Senator  Lodge, 
who  was  entrusted  with  the  preparation  of  that 
feature  of  the  platform.  Governor  Foraker  has 
also  sent  me  his  account  of  the  manner  in  which 


THIRTEEN  PRESIDENTS  223 

that  plank  of  the  platform  was  agreed  upon  in 
Committee.  This  fact  is  worth  mentioning,  as  the 
friends  of  Senator  Platt  of  New  York  circulated 
a  report  after  the  Convention  that  he,  upon  his 
arrival  in  St.  Louis,  had  compelled  the  framers  of 
the  platform  to  adopt  his  views  about  the  gold 
standard.  In  point  of  fact  the  matter  was  settled 
long  before  his  arrival,  and  Senator  Platt  had 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  He  had  little  or  no  influence 
in  the  Convention. 

Some  time  before  his  inauguration  McKinley 
invited  me  to  visit  him  at  his  home  in  Canton. 
He  discussed  quite  freely  the  numerous  people  he 
was  considering  for  Cabinet  positions.  Among 
other  things  he  said  he  wanted  a  Southern  man  in 
his  Cabinet.  He  was  kind  enough  to  say  that  he 
had  been  considering  me  as  a  possibility  for 
Attorney  General,  but  that  the  trouble  in  my  case 
was  that  I  lived  in  the  North  and  that  Southern 
Republicans  would,  for  that  reason,  not  be  satisfied 
with  me  as  a  representative  of  the  South,  while 
the  New  Yorkers  would  object  for  fear  that  I 
would  be  charged  to  New  York. 

I  interrupted  him  by  jocularly  telling  him  he 
need  not  discuss  that  subject  further;  that  I  could 
not  afford  to  be  Attorney  General  on  the  salary; 
that  if  I  should  take  the  place  the  Marshal  of  the 
District  of  Columbia  would  have  his  hand  in 
my  collar  for  debt  by  the  end  of  my  term.  At  that 
time  he  was  also  considering  Judge  Nathan  GofT  of 


224  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

West  Virginia,  but  I  think  Judge  Goff  was  unwilling 
to  accept.  We  lunched  together  and  Mrs.  McKinley 
was  present.  She  was  a  sweet,  pathetic  little 
invalid,  and  his  tenderness  to  her  was  touching.  I 
remember  saying  at  the  lunch  table  something  to 
McKinley  about  his  tenure  of  his  new  office  being 
more  secure  than  that  in  Congress  when  Wallace 
turned  him  out.  Mrs.  McKinley  interrupted  by 
inquiring  something,  with  a  surprised  look,  which 
implied  that  she  did  not  altogether  understand 
what  I  meant  when  I  spoke  about  Wallace.  Her 
husband  adroitly  turned  the  subject,  and  I 
verily  believe  that  through  consideration  for  her 
health  she  had  never  been  allowed  to  hear  of  his 
defeat.  The  President-elect  asked  me  what  posi 
tion  I  wanted.  I  told  him  I  was  like  Beverley 
Tucker  when  Stephen  A.  Douglas  said  to  him: 
*  *  Bev. ,  what  shall  I  do  for  you  when  I  am  President  ?' ' 
Tucker  was  a  fellow  of  infinite  jest.  "  Stephen,  old 
boy,"  he  replied  quickly,  "  when  you  are  President 
just  walk  down  Pennsylvania  Avenue  with  me, 
your  arm  about  my  neck,  and  call  me  Bev.,  and  I 
will  do  the  rest."  The  joke  pleased  him  im 
mensely,  and  I  heard  of  his  repeating  it  afterward. 
I  did,  however,  tell  the  President-elect  frankly,  as 
our  intimacy  and  his  inquiry  justified,  that  I 
wanted  to  be  United  States  Attorney  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York.  At  first  he 
inquired  who  were  the  other  aspirants.  Then  he 
said  that  unless  some  new  and  unforeseen  con- 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  225 

tingency  arose  he  would  nominate  me.  But  I  saw 
that  something  else  was  on  his  mind.  At  last  it 
came  out.  "Is  Senator  Platt  for  you?"  said  he. 
"  Of  course  not,"  said  I.  "  Have  I  not  been  fighting 
him  to  seat  delegates  for  you.  You  know  Platt. 
How  can  you  expect  me  to  secure  his  endorsement. 
Are  you  going  to  penalise  your  friends  because  they 
cannot  secure  the  endorsement  of  those  they  have 
antagonised  fighting  for  you?"  He  mused  and 
said :  "  Yes,  I  know.  But — you  know  the  deference 
paid  to  Senatorial  endorsements  for  office  like  this. 
You  know  how  the  success  of  any  Administration 
depends  upon  the  support  of  the  Senate.  You 
know  what  a  narrow  margin  I  shall  have  in  the 
Senate.  I  cannot  afford  to  have  another  Garfield 
row.  We  only  have  a  majority  of  two  or  three  in 
the  Senate.  Even  if  Platt  will  not  endorse  you, 
can  you  not  make  him  agree  not  to  fight  you  if 
I  name  you? "  I  told  him  I  would  see  what  could 
be  done.  Senator  Platt's  attitude  seemed  to  give 
him  great  concern.  Platt  had  opposed  his  nomina 
tion,  but  supported  him  for  election,  and  since  the 
election  he  had  heard  nothing  from  him.  He  was 
anxious  to  know  what  their  relations  were  to  be. 
He  commissioned  me  to  call  upon  Platt  on  my 
return  and  give  him  to  understand  that  the 
President-elect  cherished  no  sort  of  resentment 
toward  him  for  his  opposition  to  his  nomination; 
that  his  feelings  were  altogether  kindly ;  that  he 
desired  his  advice  and  co-operation  in  regard  to 


226  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

New  York  matters,  and  was  prepared  to  show  him 
all  the  consideration  to  which  the  Senator  from  the 
greatest  State  in  the  Union  was  entitled.  At  the 
same  time  I  was  to  find  out  Platt's  attitude  toward 
my  own  aspirations.  Immediately  on  my  return 
to  New  York  I  saw  Platt  and  he  met  the  Presi 
dent's  overtures  in  the  kindliest  spirit.  Concern 
ing  my  aspirations  he  said  he  was  fully  committed 
to  another,  but  that  if  the  President  saw  fit  to  nomi 
nate  me  he  would  not  oppose  my  confirmation.  I 
reported  the  result  of  my  visit  to  McKinley .  It  was 
not  long  before  I  found  out  that  I  had  brought  the 
two  together  so  effectually  that  I  had  squeezed  my 
self  out,  for  McKinley  needed  Platt  as  badly  as  Platt 
needed  McKinley,  and  both  were  political  traders. 
The  appointment  was  delayed  a  long  time.  In  the 
summer  of  1897  I  met  the  President  at  a  Grand 
Army  Reunion  at  Buffalo.  We  saw  a  good  deal 
of  each  other.  He  made  a  fine  speech  at  the 
banquet,  the  best  I  ever  heard  from  him.  I  was 
an  "  also  ran,"  and  spoke  after  him.  My  train  de 
parted  about  eleven  o'clock  p.  M.  and  I  was  com 
pelled  to  leave.  As  I  edged  my  way  out  behind 
those  seated  on  the  dais  I  passed  the  President, 
and,  looking  up  to  say  good-bye,  he  pulled  me  down 
to  him  and  said  something  very  kind  about  my 
speech.  I  said:  "  Thank  you.  I  wonder  if  it  was 
good  enough  to  pull  off  that  Attorneyship  I've 
been  expecting  so  long."  His  reply  was,  "Have 
you  secured  Platt's  support?"  The  reply  nettled 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  227 

me  and  I  said:  "No.  Did  you  secure  it  when  I 
made  him  my  opponent  fighting  your  battles  for 
you?  Seems  as  if  I  ought  to  have  sided  with  him 
in  order  to  have  you  for  a  friend."  He  took  the 
rebuke  kindly,  and  said  he  wanted  to  see  me  in 
Washington  soon.  I  was  not  therefore  surprised 
when  some  time  later  I  had  a  request  to  visit 
him  in  Washington.  Meanwhile  Mr.  Platt  had 
told  me  that  he  had  said  to  the  President  just  what 
he  promised  that  he  would.  My  meeting  with  the 
President  was  in  what  is  known  as  the  "  red  room." 
Secretary  Alger  was  present.  The  interview  opened 
by  McKinley's  telling  me  how  much  attached  to 
me  he  was  and  how  everybody  knew  it.  Then 
I  knew  what  was  coming.  He  went  on  to  say 
that  I  must  know  his  decision  did  not  depend 
on  his  relative  liking  of  Senator  Platt  and  myself; 
that  he  had  been  my  friend  for  many  years;  and 
that  he  had  been  prejudiced  against  Platt,  al 
though  since  he  had  met  him  he  esteemed  him 
highly.  But  that  he  felt  bound  not  to  antagonise 
Platt  in  the  matter  of  this  Attorneyship ;  that  his 
margin  of  support  in  the  Senate  was  too  narrow 
to  justify  it.  I  interrupted  him  to  inquire:  "  Did 
Mr.  Platt  not  write  to  you  that,  while  he  had  sup 
ported  another,  if  you  chose  to  nominate  me 
he  would  not  object?"  "Oh,  yes,  maybe  he 
did,"  said  he,  "but  I  have  seen  Platt  and  I  know 
how  he  feels,  and  I  know  I  cannot  jeopardise  the 
Party  by  fighting  Platt.  I  believe  you  are  too 


228  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

good  a  friend  to  ask  me  to  do  that."  "Mr. 
President,"  said  I,  rising  to  go,  "your  decision 
is  not  a  surprise  to  me.  I  release  you  from  all 
obligations.  I  have  long  since  learned  how  friend 
ship  is  sacrificed  in  the  game  of  politics.  Platt 
has  something  you  want.  You  have  something 
Platt  wants.  Go  ahead  with  the  arrangement. 
Next  time  I  want  something  and  you  and  Platt 
are  wrangling,  I  will  support  Platt  if  I  prize  what 
I  want  more  than  I  do  your  friendship.  A  man  is 
a  fool  who  is  sentimental  in  politics."  "  Now  you 
are  mad  and  losing  your  temper,"  said  he  in  a 
grieved  way.  "  I  never  was  less  mad  in  my  life," 
I  replied;  "I  am  only  describing  coolly  what  I 
see."  McKinley  talked  kindly  and  said  something 
about  there  being  other  ways  in  which  he  could 
attest  his  friendship,  and  Secretary  Alger  said  a 
word  or  two  about  what  he  knew  of  McKinley 's 
attachment,  and  I  left  in  no  very  pleasant  temper. 
Platt's  man  received  the  appointment.  Some  time 
afterward  McKinley  gave  me  a  very  handsome 
special  appointment,  but  he  knew  just  what  I 
thought  of  him.  It  was  this:  He  was  naturally 
an  amiable  man,  but  exceedingly  ambitious;  so 
ambitious  that  he  had  no  idea  of  imperilling  any 
personal  interest  for  friendly  inclinations.  If  it 
was  necessary  to  sacrifice  a  weak  friend  to  propi 
tiate  a  powerful  enemy  he  would  not  hesitate  for 
one  moment  to  do  so.  To  his  powerful  friends, 
on  whom  he  was  dependent,  he  was  loyal  to  the 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  229 

point  of  doing  anything  they  required,  even  things 
which  his  judgment  or  his  conscience  did  not 
approve,  but  that  was  only  another  form  of  self 
ishness.  His  natural  inclination  to  weaker  friends 
was  kindly,  and  when  he  might  assist  them  without 
danger  to  himself  he  did  so  with  a  show  of  great 
generosity.  But  when  doing  so  called  on  him 
to  imperil  any  selfish  interest  he  did  not  hesitate 
to  leave  them  in  the  lurch.  Secretary  Alger  him 
self  experienced  this.  No  man  was  ever  more  loyal 
to  McKinley,  and  he  was  an  excellent  Secretary 
of  War,  but  when  McKinley  found  that  there  was  a 
public  clamour  against  Alger  he  did  not  stand  by 
him  as  he  should  have  done,  he  sacrificed  him  for 
his  own  benefit  without  a  qualm.  In  a  word, 
McKinley  was  nothing  like  as  unselfish  a  man 
as  he  has  the  reputation  of  having  been;  he  was 
much  more  of  a  trading  politician  than  he  has 
the  reputation  of  having  been;  he  was  not  as  high 
as  the  public  estimate  places  him;  and  while  he 
was  a  kind-hearted  man,  he  was  a  very  timid, 
calculating  person;  and  while  personally  not  cor 
rupt  was  under  many  bad  and  venal  influences. 
What  saved  McKinley  and  will  pass  his  name 
down  to  history  as  a  much  greater  man  than  he 
really  ^was,  is  that  he  had  a  singularly  able 
coterie  of  men  about  him,  and  presided  over  the 
destinies  of  this  Nation  when  our  people  were 
more  prosperous,  more  virile,  more  ready  to 
work  out  their  own  destiny  and  to  achieve  their 


230  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

own  glory  than  they  ever  had  been  before,  or 
may  ever  be  again. 

McKinley  was  naturally  of  a  cautious  and  a  timid 
nature.  The  swift  rush  of  events  after  the  blowing 
up  of  the  Maine  alarmed  him.  Well  it  might. 
The  country  was  not  prepared  for  war  in  any  way. 
With  a  more  powerful  adversary  than  Spain,  the 
precipitate  way  in  which  our  people  forced  the 
war  might,  and  probably  would,  have  produced  a 
great  disaster.  It  was  this  doubtless  that  alarmed 
McKinley  and  brought  forth  his  desperate  appeals 
for  delay.  But  the  rashness  of  the  populace 
proved  to  be  a  true  inspiration,  and  the  victories 
we  won  so  rapidly  were  little  short  of  miracles  in 
their  bloodlessness  and  their  completeness.  The 
rapidity  of  the  formation  of  our  armies  and  navies ; 
the  thoroughness  of  their  equipment;  the  celerity 
and  precision  of  their  work — while  due  to  the 
work  of  a  thousand  master  minds,  product  of  our 
whirling  period  of  activity — will  always  redound  to 
the  credit  of  McKinley  and  give  him  higher  rank 
than  as  a  man  he  was  entitled  to.  He  was  never 
a  vindictive  man.  His  kindness  and  his  amiability 
disarmed  to  a  great  extent  resentment  for  his 
shortcomings. 

When  the  war  broke  out  my  boys  went  wild. 
The  eldest  was  in  the  army,  and  the  next  two 
wer  e  graduates  of  the  Virginia  Military  Institute. 
McKinley  promptly  commissioned  the  latter  two 
as  Captain  and  First  Lieutenant  in  Colonel 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  231 

Pettit's  4th  Regiment  of  U.  S.  Volunteer  Infantry. 
My  oldest  son  he  made  an  Assistant  Adjutant 
General  with  rank  of  Captain,  after  Santiago,  and 
Afterward  Major  in  the  47th  Infantry  Volunteers- 
My  second  son  he  afterwards  promoted  to  be 
Major  in  the  4th.  He  even  offered  me  a  Brigadier 
General's  commission,  but  just  at  that  time  I  was 
engaged  in  an  important  railroad  reorganization 
and  declined  it,  although  it  was  tempting  to  the 
vanity  of  an  ex-Confederate. 

The  last  time  I  saw  McKinley  was  at  Bluff  Point. 
I  was  chairman  of  a  committee  appointed  to  call 
on  him  and  invite  him  to  attend  a  great  celebration 
of  Dewey's  victory  in  New  York.  The  place  is 
beautiful,  and  we  reached  it  on  a  lovely  day. 
After  our  task  was  performed  I  was  about  to 
withdraw  when  McKinley,  who  knew  how  I  felt 
about  the  United  States  Attorney  ship,  approached 
me  in  his  most  seductive  way.  He  knew  my  weak 
point.  "Well,"  said  he,  calling  me  by  my  first 
name,  ''How  are  our  boys?"  "Very  well,  I 
thank  you,  Mr.  President — one  in  the  Philippines 
and  two  in  Cuba.  All  very  well."  "And  how  is 
Mrs.  Wise?"  he  added;  "I  expect  that  anxiety 
about  all  those  boys  in  the  army  has  made  her  lose 
the  girlish  appearance  she  had  when  we  were 
frolicking  that  night  with  Irving."  I  thanked  him 
and  made  some  reply.  Running  his  arm  through 
mine,  as  he  often  did  in  the  old  days,  he  drew  me 
aside  and  said:  "  Where  is  the  little  chap  that  made 


232  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

photographs  of  the  Spaniards  as  he  charged  them 
in  the  gth  Infantry  at  San  Juan  Hill  ? "  "  Why,  he 
has  rejoined  his  regiment  and  is  serving  in  Northern 
Luzon.''  "  Now,  I  want  him  to  be  a  Major  in  one 
of  the  new  regiments  we  are  recruiting,"  was  his 
quick  reply.  Whatever  lingering  resentment  I 
may  have  felt  against  McKinley  was  surely  dis 
armed  by  this  considerate  remembrance  of  my 
eldest  son.  Turning  to  him,  and  grinning,  I  said: 
"  Mr.  President,  is  this  business  or  conversation? 
Platt  has  no  nominee  for  this  place,  has  he?" 
He  in  turn  said:  " There  you  go  again.  'Still 
harping  on  my  daughter.'  No,  I  want  that  boy 
appointed.  You  write  to  Root  and  tell  him  I 
want  it  done  and  I  will  write,  too."  Shaking  his 
hand  cordially,  I  went  off  and  wrote  at  once  to 
Secretary  Root,  one  of  the  best  friends  and 
truest  men  I  ever  knew,  and  within  a  week 
received  a  telegram  from  him  saying:  "  Con 
gratulate  Major  Hugh  D.  Wise  on  his  appoint 
ment  to  the  47th  Infantry."  I  little  thought, 
when  I  last  looked  into  the  kindly  eyes  of 
McKinley  that  summer  day  at  Bluff  Point,  that 
we  would  never  meet  again.  He  was  so  full  of 
life  and  hope  and  health  that  a  long  career  seemed 
spread  out  before  him. 

A  few  weeks  later  I  was  at  my  little  country 
place  in  Virginia.  It  is  on  the  point  of  a  cape 
far  from  the  railroad  and  telegraph.  We  were  at 
breakfast  when  one  of  the  servants  came  in  with 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  233 

the  report  that  McKinley  had  been  shot.  I 
regarded  it  at  first  as  a  mere  idle  country  rumour, 
but  went  to  the  'phone  and  inquired  of  the  tele 
graph  office  in  the  village  twelve  miles  away,  and  to 
my  horror  the  rumour  was  confirmed.  What  sur 
prised  me  most  was  the  credulity  of  people  in 
thinking  there  was  any  hope  of  his  recovery. 
Surgery  has  undoubtedly  made  great  advances  in 
late  years,  and  I  am  no  skilled  surgeon,  but  it  will 
be  many  a  day,  with  the  practical  experience  I 
have  had  with  wounds  like  that,  before  any  surgeon, 
however  eminent,  will  make  me  believe  that  there 
is  one  chance  in  ten  thousand  for  any  victim  of  a 
gun-shot  wound  through  the  intestines. 

Poor  McKinley!  He  deserved  a  better  fate. 
The  criticisms  I  have  passed  upon  him  above, 
while  they  were  deserved,  do  not  destroy  or 
materially  weaken  a  feeling  akin  to  affection 
which  I  always  felt  for  him;  and  while  his  friend 
ship  failed  me  once  on  a  pinch,  he  showed  me 
many  times  his  kindness  of  heart,  and  friendly 
interest,  and  desire  to  serve  me — when  he  did  not 
have  to  endanger  himself.  That  was  his  nature 
and  he  could  not  change  it.  On  the  whole  his 
was  a  nature  far  above  the  average  of  mankind  in 
sweetness  and  kindliness,  and  not  a  whit  below 
the  average  in  selfishness,  perhaps,  when  men  are 
subjected  to  the  test. 


THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 


XIII.-- THEODORE  ROOSEVELT 

OF  ALL  the  men  who  have  occupied  the  Presi 
dential  office  in  my  day  and  time,  the  present 
incumbent  is  to  me  at  once  the  most  interesting, 
unique,  and  in  many  respects  the  most  admirable 
man  among  them.  I  shall  discuss  him  as  freely 
as  if  he  were  dead,  for,  while  he  is  far  from  perfec 
tion,  no  one  can  fail  to  see  from  what  I  shall  say 
of  him  that  I  admire  and  respect  him  greatly,  and 
count  his  admirable  traits  as  many  times  over 
balancing  the  few  defects  to  which  I  shall  refer- 
Perhaps  I  notice  the  latter  more  than  most  men 
would  do,  because  some  of  them  I  have  myself 
in  such  exaggerated  degree  that,  instead  of  being 
mere  drawbacks,  they  are  dominant  and  dis 
qualifying.  Criticism  is  no  more  agreeable  to 
Theodore  Roosevelt  than  it  is  to  the  average  of 
mankind,  I  think,  for  I  remember  one  occasion 
when,  at  the  time  he  was  Police  Commissioner 
of  New  York  City,  I  demurred  most  seriously 
to  the  rigid  way  in  which  he  and  his  associates 
were  enforcing  certain  provisions  of  the  law  of 
excise.  I  talked  plainly  in  open  meeting,  coup 
ling  my  criticism  with  the  assurance  of  more 
than  ordinary  personal  regard.  Nobody  loves 
a  stiff  dispute  better  than  Roosevelt,  and  he 

237 


238  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

came  back  at  me  hammer  and  tongs.  His  open 
ing  sentence  was  an  acknowledgment  of  out 
kindly  relations,  but  he  added,  sardonically; 
"Of  course  we  are  friends;  I  know  it.  But  I 
cannot  help  quoting:  'I  know  that  you  love  me 
most  truly,  but  why  did  you  kick  me  down-stairs  ? ' ' 

More  than  once  he  and  I  have  metaphorically 
punched  each  other,  but,  as  an  Englishman  says 
of  another  whom  he  admires,  "he  can  stand 
a  lot  of  beating,"  and  I  admire  him  all  the  more 
for  it.  He  may  not  always  be  right.  I  do  not 
think  he  is  always  right.  But  he  always  believes 
he  is  right,  and  he  has  the  courage  of  his  con 
victions.  When  he  is  with  you,  he  is  with  you 
generously,  and  confidingly,  and  whole-souled. 
When  he  is  against  you,  he  will  not  lie  to  you,  or 
deceive  you,  or  postpone  you,  but  will  tell  you  so, 
and  tell  you  why,  and  argue  against  you,  and  sit 
down  on  you,  and,  if  need  be,  fight  you  to  a  finish. 
In  a  word,  he  is  a  man,  a  bold  outspoken  man,  every 
inch  of  him  a  man,  whether  he  is  your  friend  or 
foe.  And  with  all  his  positiveness  and  aggressive 
ness  he  combines,  in  his  dealings  with  a  certain 
class  of  politicians  who  could  make  great  trouble 
for  him  if  he  did  not  conciliate  them,  about  as 
smooth  and  cunning  political  acumen  as  any  man 
I  ever  saw. 

In  the  course  of  a  long  acquaintance  with  and 
observation  of  Roosevelt,  I  have  watched  his  deal 
ings  with  professional  politicians  from  many 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  239 

States,  with  mingled  wonder  and  admiration. 
He  never  has  been  a  machine  man,  and  he  never 
has  been  the  voluntary  choice  of  the  class  of 
men  who  gain  prominence  through  control  of 
political  machines.  In  his  heart  he  does  not 
admire  them,  and  in  their  hearts  they  have  always 
looked  upon  him  as  an  infliction.  More  than  once 
they  have  tried  to  cut  him  down  by  foul  riding, 
and  would  have  been  glad  to  accept  temporary 
defeat  in  order  to  put  a  quietus  upon  Roosevelt's 
political  ambitions.  And  nobody  has  known  it 
better  than  Roosevelt.  Yet  the  "impetuous,"  the 
"hot-headed,"  the  "  aggressive,"  the  "uncalculat- 
ing  "  Teddy  has  never  been  betrayed  into  a  breach 
with  any  of  them  which  would  give  them  the  excuse 
they  sought.  He  has  never  lost  sight  of  the  absolute 
necessity  of  having  the  machines  supporting  him 
after  election.  He  has,  over  and  over  again, 
adroitly  circumvented  their  machinations  to  defeat 
his  election,  and  afterward  calculated  to  a  nicety 
just  how  much  recognition  was  necessary  to 
propitiate  them  into  a  support  of  his  Administra 
tion.  He  has  understood  all  the  while  that 
what  he  did  for  them  was  political  purchase- 
money,  indispensable  to  his  own  strength;  and 
they,  political  parasites  as  they  are,  while  not 
getting  half  they  wanted,  yet  could  not  live  with 
out  what  they  did  get,  and  have  accepted  just 
enough  to  keep  them  from  kicking  over  the 
political  pail.  He  has  forborne  from  the  depun- 


24o  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

elation  of  them  which  he  felt  in  his  heart;  and 
muzzled  and  utilised  the  political  wolves  who 
would  rend  him  if  they  dared.  I  have  often 
laughed  to  myself,  thinking  what  he  would  say 
about  them,  and  they  about  him,  if  both  were 
free  to  express  their  opinions  of  each  other.  His 
course  has  no  doubt  cost  him  many  severe  efforts 
at  self-restraint,  and  at  times  he  has  no  doubt 
been  forced  to  concessions  and  sacrifices  of  his 
personal  wishes  which  have  tantalised  him 
greatly.  But  he  has,  in  a  discriminating  way,  no 
less  than  great,  sacrificed  the  lesser  to  the  greater 
object  and  won,  leaving  this  base  but  indispens 
able  class  of  supporters  baffled  and  disappointed, 
because,  knowing  just  what  he  thinks  of  them, 
they  find  no  excuse  in  his  treatment  of  them 
for  betrayal  or  desertion. 

To  the  veteran  observer  who  knows  how  domi 
nant  the  machine  was  with  certain  of  his  prede 
cessors,  and  how  insolent  and  over-shadowing  it 
had  become,  it  is  a  refreshing  sight  to  see  him 
the  real  controlling  force  of  his  Administration, 
and  the  old  magnates  unhappy  at  the  decline  of 
their  importance,  but  silently  pretending  to  ac 
quiesce. 

If  Roosevelt  had  shown  the  same  political 
acumen  in  dealing  with  all  the  subjects  that  have 
arisen  that  he  has  in  his  handling  of  the  machine 
leaders,  I  firmly  believe  he  would  have  received, 
in  the  last  election,  the  unanimous  vote  of  the 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  241 

Electoral  College;  for  no  man,  during  my  life-time, 
has  seemed,  in  his  personality,  so  to  appeal  to 
the  imagination,  or  to  have  so  strong  a  hold  upon 
the  affections  of  the  masses  of  the  American 
people. 

I  did  not  know  his  father.  He  died  before  I 
came  to  live  in  New  York.  But  from  all  accounts 
of  him,  he  was  one  of  the  gentlest,  most  lovable, 
public-spirited,  and  popular  men  that  ever  lived 
in  New  York  City.  Theodore  Roosevelt  does  not, 
however,  inherit  the  manners  or  the  gentler  traits 
of  his  father.  In  his  sturdiness  and  love  of  life's 
battles  and  enterprises,  he  much  more  resembles 
his  uncle,  Mr.  Robert  Roosevelt,  who  has  been 
my  friend  and  associate  these  many  years.  The 
most  lovable  Roosevelt  I  ever  knew  was  the 
President's  brother,  Elliott,  now  dead  and  gone. 
He  was  one  of  my  earliest  acquaintances  in  New 
York,  and  our  attachment  grew  from  the  moment 
of  our  first  meeting  until  his  early  death.  Perhaps 
he  was  nothing  like  so  aggressive  or  so  forceful  a 
man  as  Theodore,  but  if  personal  popularity  could 
have  bestowed  public  honours  on  any  man  there 
was  nothing  beyond  the  reach  of  Elliott  Roosevelt. 

In  those  days  we  were  all  much  younger  than 
we  are  now,  and  the  things  which  amused  us  then 
have  ceased  to  charm.  Long  before  the  horse 
show  became  a  fad,  the  annual  dog  show  of  the 
Westminster  Kennel  Club  was  the  thing  which 
brought  forth  New  York  Society  in  all  its  glory. 


242  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

It  was  no  dog  traders'  mart.  The  Westminster 
Kennel  Club  was  composed  of  the  elite  young 
sportsmen  of  the  city.  I  recall  such  men  as  J.  O. 
Donner,  C.  DuBois  Wagstaff,  Pierre  Lorillard, 
John  Heckscher,  Henry  Munn,  Dick  Pancoast, 
Seward  and  Walter  Webb,  George  De  Forest 
Grant,  Coleman  Dray  ton,  Elliott  Smith,  Anthony 
and  John  C.  Higgins,  dear  old  Charlie  Raymond, 
Elliott  Roosevelt,  and  many  others.  They  gave 
the  show  and  acted  as  stewards  and  judges  and  all 
that,  and  society  came  to  it  at  Madison  Square 
Garden.  I  came  up  from  Virginia  to  judge  the 
setters  and  the  pointers,  and  they  brought  over 
men  like  Dalziel  and  the  best  judges  from  Eng 
land.  We  gave  the  "four  hundred"  a  great  run 
for  their  money  until  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  and 
then  we  generally  gave  ourselves  a  great  run  on 
their  money  at  a  banquet  at  the  famous  old 
Hotel  Brunswick,  near  by  the  Madison  Square 
Garden,  where  our  show  was  held.  "  Toney " 
Higgins  became  Senator  from  Delaware,  John  C. 
Higgins  a  foreign  Minister,  Seward  Webb  a 
millionaire,  and  the  others  are  now  dead  or  gouty 
or  on  the  retired  list,  and  the  Brunswick  has  been 
pulled  down.  But  those  were  never  to  be  forgotten 
days  in  our  coterie.  Elliott  Roosevelt  was  among 
the  younger  and  later  set  who  followed  my  hey- 
dey,  and  "Teddy,"  while  he  was  a  "dead-game 
sport,"  seldom  showed  up,  as  he  was  a  member 
of  the  Legislature  or  playing  cowboy  in  the  West. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  243 

Still,  he  and  Ray  Hamilton  and  fellows  of  that 
class  were  counted  in  "  the  gang  "  which  embraced 
men  from  the  age  of  Carroll  Livingston  down  to 
the  fledgelings. 

It  was  a  splendid  lot  of  fellows.  They  were 
not  dissipated  roisterers  and  drunkards  and  gam 
blers.  They  were  really  a  fine  and  refined  set 
of  gentlemen  sportsmen. 

I  have,  in  a  previous  chapter,  mentioned  the 
first  letter  I  ever  received  from  Theodore  Roose 
velt.  It  was  in  1885,  when  I  was  running  for  Gov 
ernor  against  Fitzhugh  Lee,  and  it  expressed  his 
good  wishes  for  my  success.  Of  course  that  gave 
me  a  kindly  feeling  for  Roosevelt.  My  next  dis 
tinct  remembrance  of  him  is  meeting  him  at  a 
luncheon  given  by  Elliott  at  the  Down  Town 
Club  about  1888.  I  met  Elliott  Roosevelt  with 
General  Sorrel  of  Georgia  in  New  Street  one  day. 
Mr.  James  Gracie,  Roosevelt's  uncle,  joined  us. 
Gracie's  brother,  General  Archibald  Gracie,  was 
killed  in  the  Confederate  service  on  the  lines  at 
Petersburg.  His  brigade  adjoined  my  father's 
at  the  time  of  his  death. 

The  Roosevelt  boys  always  had  a  large  circle  of 
Southern  friends.  Their  uncle,  their  mother's 
brother,  Col.  Bullock  of  Georgia,  was  one  of  the 
finest  officers  in  the  Confederate  Navy  and  a  very 
popular  man. 

Sorrel  had  served  on  Longstreet's  staff,  with  such 
conspicuous  gallantry  that  he  was  promoted  at  one 


244  RECOLLECTIONS  OF 

bound  from  Lieutenant  Colonel  on  the  Staff  to 
Brigadier  General  in  the  line.  I  knew  him  well 
and  we  were  warm  friends. 

"Hallo,  here  he  comes  now,"  shouted  Elliott  as; 
I  crossed  the  street,  and  I  learned  that  they  were 
in  search  of  me  for  a  luncheon  at  the  Down  Town 
Club.  When  we  arrived  there  we  found  Theodore 
Roosevelt  and  Russell  Harrison,  son  of  the  newly 
elected  President.  It  was  an  entertaining  luncheon. 
Young  Harrison,  like  Theodore  Roosevelt,  had  been 
roughing  it  in  the  West  and  their  accounts  of 
Western  life  were  most  interesting.  I  remember 
Harrison  telling  how  he  had  been  present  at 
the  lynching  of  a  horse  thief  and  was  afterward 
summoned  on  a  grand  jury  to  investigate  the  cir 
cumstances  attending  it. 

At  that  time  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  one  of  the 
huskiest,  most  energetic,  pushing  men  of  thirty  that 
I  ever  met.  Shortly  afterward  Elliott,  Theodore, 
General  Sorrel  and  I  dined  together  at  Elliott  Roose 
velt's  home,  en  garcon,  and  I  nevermore  enjoyed  an 
evening,  for  both  Sorrel  and  Theodore  Roosevelt 
were  full  to  overflowing  of  their  reminiscences,  the 
one  of  the  Civil  war,  the  other  of  his  life  in  the  West, 

It  was  a  deep  distress  to  me  when  Elliott  died 
soon  afterward.  I  lost  one  of  the  sweetest 
friends  of  my  early  manhood.  The  two  brothers 
were  much  attached  to  each  other,  and  if  Elliott 
had  lived  I  would  always  have  had  a  powerful 
friend  at  court,  I  feel  sure. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  245 

When  Theodore  Roosevelt  became  a  Police 
Commissioner  in  New  York,  one  of  his  associates 
was  the  present  General  Fred.  Grant.  Grant  is  one 
of  the  best  of  fellows,  but  an  easy-going  man, 
about  as  free  from  strenuousness  as  any  man  I 
ever  saw.  At  that  time  I  saw  a  good  deal  of  him, 
and  his  descriptions  of  the  meetings  of  the  Board 
were  most  entertaining.  It  was  a  so-called  non- 
partisan  Board,  composed  of  Roosevelt,  Grant, 
and  a  Tammany  Democrat.  The  police  adminis 
tration  of  New  York  at  that  time  was  about  as 
rotten  as  anything  in  the  unsavory  record  of 
Tammany  rule.  Roosevelt  was  placed  there  to 
break  it  up,  and  I  presume  no  man  ever  had  a 
more  congenial  task.  He  has  written  about 
treading  softly  and  having  a  club.  He  had  his 
club  then  and  did  not  tread  softly.  From  the  day  he 
entered  he  began  to  fight,  and  he  tore  up  the  police 
abuses  by  the  roots.  When  he  took  charge  he 
walked  into  a  veritable  hornets'  nest,  for  the  whole 
police  force  was  packed  with  creatures  of  Tam 
many  in  thorough  sympathy  with  the  minority  of 
the  Board,  and  they  did  everything  in  their  power 
to  thwart  him.  Every  morning  the  newspapers 
gave  us  fresh  accounts  of  rows  in  the  sessions  of 
the  Police  Board.  For  once  at  any  rate  Roose 
velt  had  all  the  fighting  he  wanted,  and  he  kept 
it  up  until  he  reorganised  the  entire  force  and  gave 
New  York  a  better  police  service  than  she  ever  had 
before.  To  this  day  the  police  department  shows 


246  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

the  good  effects  of  the  dynamiting  he  gave  it. 
Grant,  although  not  so  aggressive  as  Roosevelt, 
backed  him  up  loyally,  now  and  then  exclaiming: 
"I  wonder  he  does  not  wear  himself  out!" 

Roosevelt  went  to  Washington  to  become  a 
Civil  Service  Commissioner.  I  never  understood 
his  enthusiasm  for  that  idea.  By  nature  the 
man  must  see  that  the  idea  of  securing  the  best 
service  by  giving  preference  to  book-learning  pro 
ficiency  and  by  routine  promotion  is  Utopian. 
In  practice,  where  he  may  exercise  his  untram 
melled  judgment,  he  acts  often  contrary  to  his 
theory.  Some  of  the  biggest  fools  I  ever  knew 
could  pass  the  best  examinations.  It  is  all 
right  to  pass  lawrs  forbidding  removals  for  political 
causes,  and  perhaps  there  is  no  other  way  of 
regulating  appointments,  but  I  will  cite  a  single 
instance  which  has  fallen  under  my  observation. 

I  firmly  believe  that  the  system  of  competitive 
examinations  for  appointments  to  West  Point  has 
resulted  in  producing  a  class  of  cadets  far  inferior 
to  those  secured  by  taking  the  best  and  most 
promising  boy  a  Congressman  could  find  and 
sending  him  there  regardless  of  his  pre-eminence 
as  a  book-worm.  Book-worm  boys,  as  a  class, 
are  not  the  brightest,  or  the  strongest,  or  the  best 
material  for  soldiers.  However,  it  was  not  my 
purpose  to  discuss  the  merits  or  demerits  of  civil- 
service  examinations.  I  only  referred  to  it  because 
I  consider  it  singular  that  a  man  with  the  peculiar 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  247 

temperament  and  characteristics  of  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  and  who,  in  practice,  so  negatives  his 
theory,  should  have  become  a  champion  of  civil- 
service  rules  as  they  are  framed  and  applied. 

Roosevelt  was  soon  afterward  made  Assistant 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  I  know  very  little 
of  his  work  there.  The  then  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  ex-Governor  Long  of  Massachusetts,  was 
a  colleague  of  mine  in  Congress.  He  is  an 
able,  polished,  courteous  man.  But  he  is  a 
gentleman  tenacious  of  his  own  authority  and 
position,  and  by  no  means  disposed  to  be 
hustled  by  anybody.  It  is  claimed  by  the 
enthusiastic  friends  of  Roosevelt  that,  although 
in  a  subordinate  position,  he  was  the  most  potent 
force  in  the  Navy  Department,  and  that  the  con 
dition  of  our  Navy  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish 
War  was  chiefly  due  to  his  efforts.  I  am  sorry  the 
claim  has  been  made.  I  do  not  believe  Roosevelt 
encouraged  it,  for  I  do  not  believe  it  was  just. 
Governor  Long  was  no  figurehead  in  his  position. 
He  was  a  vigorous,  capable  man,  and  would  have 
resented  promptly  the  usurpation  of  his  authority 
by  any  man.  And  Roosevelt  himself  would  be  the 
last  man  in  the  world  to  trench  upon  the  preroga 
tives  of  a  worthy  superior.  I  do  not  doubt  that 
he  did  the  work  assigned  to  him  with  the  vigour 
and  efficiency  which  has  always  characterised  his 
public  service,  and  that  is  sufficient  praise. 

Everybody    knows    the    story   of    his  prompt 


248  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

action  in  raising  the  Rough  Rider  Regiment 
when  the  Spanish  War  broke  out.  He  showed 
his  good  sense,  too,  in  not  trusting  too  much  to 
his  slight  military  knowledge,  by  having  Leonard 
Wood  made  Colonel,  while  he  accepted  the  place 
of  Lieutenant- Colonel. 

Roosevelt  is  the  sort  of  man  who  takes  to 
military  life  as  a  duck  does  to  water.  Superior 
training  does  not  keep  inferior  men  above  a  man 
like  him,  in  actual  war.  Such  men  use  the  the 
oretical  knowledge  of  superiors  for  their  own 
instruction  until  they  gain  experience,  and  then 
climb  right  over  their  heads  upon  their  own 
foundations.  Once,  talking  with  him  since  he 
became  President,  I  remarked  that  when  the  Civil 
War  broke  out  I  was  only  fourteen  years  old, 
and  had  laid  awake  many  a  night  fearing  it  might 
end  before  I  had  a  chance  as  a  soldier.  He 
laughed  and  said:  "I  know  the  feeling.  Many 
a  time  I've  feared  that  before  any  fighting  should 
arise  I  would  be  too  old  to  volunteer."  In  a  war 
like  ours  with  Spain  it  is  no  easy  matter  for  newly 
levied  volunteers  to  gain  recognition,  much  less 
preferment,  among  veteran  regulars.  Yet  Roose 
velt  understood  how  to  manage  that.  His  con 
ception  of  the  quick  levy  of  a  cavalry  regiment 
from  plainsmen  and  reckless  youngsters  was 
original  in  design,  and  he  put  it  into  effect  in  a 
dramatic  way.  His  command  shouted  and  shot 
itself  into  notoriety  by  the  time  it  was  assembled 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  249 

at  San  Antonio,  and  was  so  full  of  aggressiveness 
that  it  was  not  safe  to  leave  it  unemployed. 
It  was  not  to  be  a  cavalry  war,  but  Roosevelt 
pushed  and  clamoured  for  service  at  the  front 
until  the  War  Department  no  doubt  felt  it  was 
easier  to  let  him  go  than  to  try  to  hold  him  back. 
When  it  came  to  the  detail  for  the  Santiago 
campaign,  any  considerable  cavalry  contingent 
was  out  of  the  question.  Only  a  few  dismounted 
battalions  were  to  accompany  Shafter.  The  regu 
lar  cavalry  at  Tampa  was  by  far  the  best  fitted 
for  the  expedition.  But  Roosevelt  had  no  idea  of 
being  left.  It  looked  as  though  the  Rough  Riders, 
if  denied  participation  in  the  expedition,  would 
wade  into  the  sea  and  try  to  swim  to  Cuba.  Such 
was  the  forward  spirit  of  Roosevelt  and  his  men. 
So,  one  battalion,  dismounted,  of  this  untried  com 
mand,  was  permitted  to  accompany  the  expedition, 
to  appease  their  ardour,  and  the  men  even  fought 
among  themselves  on  the  question  who  should  go. 
When  they  reached  Cuba  they  were  the  same 
pushing,  enterprising,  dare-devil  set,  who  had  no 
idea  that  anything  should  happen  without  their 
being  in  the  thick  of  it.  So,  pressing  forward 
before  the  whole  column  was  in  motion,  they 
bumped  into  the  retiring  Spaniards  at  La  Guasi- 
mas,  and  received  a  blizzard  that  killed  a  dozen  or 
more  and  warned  them  that  they  were  just  a 
trifle  too  independent  and  aggressive.  Did  this 
deter  Roosevelt?  Not  a  bit  of  it.  He  liked  it! 


2  50  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

He  and  his  men  wanted  another  chance  at  them. 
His  dash  and  recklessness  caught  the  popular 
eye  in  that  time  of  personal  daring.  He  and  his 
battalion  were  in  the  forefront  with  Wheeler  at 
Santiago,  and  it  was  hard  to  keep  them  back. 
Not  in  a  very  soldierly  way,  but  in  a  devil-may-care, 
dashing,  fearless  way,  he  led  his  men  up  Kettle  Hill, 
and  earned  for  them  and  for  himself  all  the  glory 
and  all  the  eclat  that  was  to  be  had  out  of  that 
affair.  His  conduct  gave  him  unusual  prominence 
and  endeared  him  greatly  to  New  Yorkers,  for  it 
soothed  their  wounded  vanity  concerning  another 
State  command  which  had  been  unfortunate. 

Theodore  Roosevelt,  chiefly  by  his  own  push  and 
insistence  upon  recognition,  thus  became  the 
most  prominent  citizen  soldier  of  the  Empire  State. 

Then  came  the  days  of  delay  and  confusion, 
when  supplies  and  ammunition  were  not  sent 
forward  from  Siboney  to  the  trenches.  Some  of 
ficers  lay  in  the  trenches  grumbling  and  waiting. 
Not  so  with  Roosevelt.  Dirty  and  dressed  like  a 
ditcher,  with  his  blue-dotted  neckerchief  tied  about 
his  collarless  throat,  he  left  his  men  on  the  lines  and 
walked  or  rode  or  trudged  back  to  the  landing  at 
Siboney  to  demand  his  ammunition  and  his  sup 
plies.  And  there  he  wrangled  and  swore  at  ordnance 
officers,  grabbed  ammunition,  bacon  and  hard 
tack,  loaded  it,  urged  teamsters,  heaved  at 
stalled  wheels,  and  floundered  back  to  camp  with 
all  the  food  and  all  the  ammunition  requisite, 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  251 

while  others  less  enterprising  awaited  their  turns. 
And  New  York  was  proud  as  the  news  of  her  stren 
uous  son  came  home  from  the  seat  of  war.  My 
eldest  boy  was  then  a  Lieutenant  in  the  gth  Regular 
Infantry.  He  had  been  detailed  to  make  observa 
tions  at  Shafter's  Headquarters  with  his  kites  and 
aerial  cameras,  and  was  on  the  wharf  at  Siboney 
in  search  of  his  outfit  when  Colonel  Roosevelt 
arrived  upon  the  mission  above  described.  He 
and  Teddy  are  much  the  same  sort  of  hustlers. 
There,  chewing  raw  bacon  in  unison  and  mutually 
denouncing  the  inefficiency  of  others,  they  estab 
lished  a  sworn  friendship  and  admiration  for  each 
other  which  neither  ever  fails  to  express  when  the 
other  is  mentioned  in  his  presence. 

"How  is  the  little  bantam  game-cock?"  says 
Roosevelt,  recalling  how  the  boy  went  up  San  Juan 
Hill  with  the  Qth  Infantry,  photographing  the 
Spaniards  as  he  charged  them.  "How  is  Teddy, 
the  Rough  Rider?  He's  not  afraid  of  anything, 
and  as  full  of  energy  as  a  box  of  monkeys,"  says 
the  boy,  recounting  Roosevelt's  everlasting  energy 
in  battle  and  in  bivouac.  He  was  but  one  of 
ten  thousand  who  marked  the  marvellous  vitality 
of  this  enterprising  soul. 

Then  came  the  days  of  victory  and  waiting 
and  sickness,  the  tropic  heat  of  summer  and  the 
dangers  of  delay.  Roosevelt  saw  the  perils  of  the 
place.  "Our  work  is  done!  Take  us  away!" 
he  shouted.  The  slow-moving  methods  of  the 


252  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

War  Department  did  not  suit  them,  but  the  veteran 
regular     officers    hesitated     to    protest.     Not    so 
with    Roosevelt.     It  might  not  be   according  to 
routine    and    army   regulations,    but    it   was   the 
urgent  demand  of  humanity  and  common  sense. 
"Our     work     is     done!     Take     us    away    before 
disease   fixes   its   fangs  upon   us  and  does  what 
the    Spaniards    failed    to     accomplish,"    insisted 
Roosevelt,    and    he    put    the    demand    into    the 
form  of  a  "round  robin,"  and  urged  and  pressed 
it  until  it  was  signed  by  his  hesitating  brother 
officers.     The  appeal  had  its  effect.      The  army 
was  immediately  transported  from  the  pestilential 
air  of  Cuba  to  the  healthful  camps  at  Montauk 
Point,  and  thousands  of  men  owe  their  lives  to 
the  boldness   and  vigour  with   which   Roosevelt 
demanded  the  change.     He  landed  there  with  his 
little  battalion,  for  which,   in  his  three  months' 
service,  he  had  won  a  place  as  distinct  as  that  of 
the  "Guides"  of  Napoleon  or  the  "Black  Horse 
Cavalry"    of    Lee.     And    the    millions    of    New 
Yorkers  who  greeted  his  landing  with  pride  and 
gratitude  were  waiting  to  make  him  Governor  of 
the  Empire  State. 

Not  so,  however,  with  the  few  scheming  political 
managers  who  call  themselves  "the  organisation." 
The  sudden  and  irresistible  popularity  of  Roose 
velt  coming  as  it  did,  just  when  the  nomination  was 
to  be  made,  utterly  overthrew  their  plans  for 
nominating  and  electing  some  nonentity  who 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  253 

should  be  subservient  to  their  "organisation." 
Roosevelt  had  never  been  a  man  of  that  kind. 
For  a  time  they  tentatively  sought  to  avert  the 
alternative  and  then,  recognising  the  inevitable, 
they  said  under  their  breath  and  with  closed  teeth : 
"D — n  him,  we  cannot  prevent  it.  Let's  make 
a  virtue  of  necessity  and  support  him."  Then  the 
organisation  threw  up  its  hat  and  cried:  ''Hurrah 
for  Roosevelt!"  and  Roosevelt  received  the  Re 
publican  nomination  without  apparent  opposition. 
But  Theodore  knew,  as  well  then  as  ever  before  or 
afterward,  just  how  far  to  trust  the  sincerity  of 
their  professions.  In  the  course  of  the  campaign 
he  and  his  friends  had  reason  to  suspect  the  good 
faith  of  the  support  he  was  receiving.  It  had 
happened  before  in  the  history  of  New  York  politics 
that  honourable  candidates  of  a  party  had  been 
allowed  to  be  defeated  because  the  party  hacks  in 
charge  of  campaigns  feared  their  dominancy  if 
they  should  be  elected,  and  found  it  more  to  their 
own  advantage  to  have  them  slaughtered  in  the 
house  of  their  friends.  Roosevelt  is  not  the  man 
to  fail  to  detect  such  a  conspiracy,  or  to  fail  to 
fight  it  when  detected.  In  the  last  days  of  the 
campaign  he  seized  his  imperilled  standard  in  his 
own  hands  and  made  his  own  personal  campaign. 
Appearing  in  all  parts  of  the  State  in  his  rough- 
rider  uniform,  he  made  a  series  of  electrifying 
speeches,  and  snatched  victory  from  defeat.  It 
was  a  glorious  victory  to  his  real  friends,  and 


254  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

the  narrow  margin  showed  that  he  had  not  taken 
his  campaign  into  his  own  hands  one  moment  too 
soon.  No  one  will  ever  know  the  chagrin  which 
certain  so-called  Republican  leaders  in  New  York 
felt  at  the  election  of  Roosevelt;  no  one  more 
thoroughly  suspected  their  loyalty  than  did  he, 
yet  no  one  ever  played  the  game  of  politics  more 
adroitly;  for  he  knew  the  dangers  of  a  breach 
with  them,  and,  without  confessing  his  distrust,  held 
them  to  their  support  of  his  Administration  by 
recognising  their  legitimate  claims  to  consideration. 
So  it  went  on  until  the  Presidential  campaign  of 
1900.  There  were  inconsiderate  friends  of  Gover 
nor  Roosevelt  who  thought  he  went  too  far  in 
propitiating  his  enemies  within  his  party.  The 
event  shows  that  he  made  no  mistake.  Certainly 
he  did  not  succeed  in  reconciling  them  to  his 
methods  or  gaining  popularity  with  them.  He  was 
as  irritating  a  thorn  in  their  side  as  any  Demo 
crat  could  possibly  have  been.  He  was  honest, 
and  so  long  as  he  remained  in  the  Governor's  office 
he  was  a  lion  in  the  path,  preventing  and  delay 
ing  many  an  old-time  method  in  which  they  had 
delighted.  Yet  the  people  were  at  his  back, 
and  the  problem  of  how  to  be  rid  of  him  was  an 
ever  recurring  perplexity.  At  last  a  solution  ap 
peared.  If  they  could  not  "turn  him  down," 
they  could  at  least  "turn  him  up."  The  Vice- 
Presidency,  while  it  was  a  sinecure,  was  counted 
a  high  honour,  and  his  elevation  to  it  would  rid 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  255 

his  party  associates  of  him  at  Albany.  According 
ly,  the  "  Republican  Gang"  from  New  York  went 
to  the  National  Convention  at  Philadelphia  shout 
ing  for  Roosevelt's  nomination  to  the  second  place, 
with  the  distinct  and  undisguised  purpose  of  being 
rid  of  him  as  Governor  of  New  York.  I  was 
present  and  heard  them,  and  can  recall  the  things 
said  and  the  men  who  said  them.  They  were 
contemptuous,  resentful,  abusive  things,  and  they 
were  said  by  men  who  have  no  views  of  their 
own,  but  get  their  inspiration  from  the  bosses  they 
serve  and  on  whom  they  depend.  Roosevelt 
understood  their  purposes  and  their  calculations 
and  their  motives  thoroughly.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  it  was  as  much  from  his  stubborn  wish  to 
balk  them  in  their  uncomplimentary  support  as 
from  some  considerations  more  important  that  he 
at  first  refused  and  so  long  hesitated  about  ac 
cepting.  One  thing  is  certain  in  my  mind — that 
if  the  great  majority  of  New  York  delegates  who 
supported  Roosevelt  in  the  National  Convention 
of  1900  for  the  Vice- Presidential  nomination  on 
the  Republican  ticket  had  had  the  faintest  idea 
he  would  within  a  year  succeed  to  the  Presidency 
they  would  not  have  voted  for  him,  even  under 
the  strongest  inducement.  When  they  returned 
their  rejoicings  were  not  over  his  nomination  to 
the  Vice-Presidency  but  over  being  rid  of  him 
as  Governor. 

McKinley    was    young    and    well    and    strong 


256  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

There  was  no  thought  of  such  a  thing  as  his  as 
sassination,  and  the  average  New  York  Republican 
organisation  man  made  no  concealment  of  the 
clever  trick  they  had  resorted  to,  to  rid  themselves 
of  an  obnoxious  Governor  by  placing  him  in  a 
sinecure.  The  delegates  returned  to  New  York 
singing,  "  I  guess  that  will  hold  him  down  awhile." 
No  man  understood  better  than  did  Governor 
Roosevelt  the  motive,  the  purpose,  the  temper  of 
his  nomination,  or  the  men  who  planned  it  and 
brought  it  about. 

In  the  Vice-Presidential  office  he  was  a  veritable 
Pegasus  hitched  to  a  plow. 

When  the  horrid  crime  which  removed  Mc- 
Kinley  brought  Roosevelt  into  the  Presidential 
office,  he  came  in  under  conditions  hardly  less 
trying  than  those  imposed  upon  Tyler  as  suc 
cessor  of  Harrison,  and  much  more  difficult  than 
those  attending  Fillmore's  or  Arthur's  succession. 
If  Harrison's  death  was  a  great  blow  to  Henry 
Clay,  who  had  calculated  so  much  upon  Harrison's 
subjection  to  his  dominancy,  what  must  have  been 
the  blow  of  McKinley's  death  to  Mark  Hanna  and 
his  thoroughly  entrenched  coterie? 

When  Harrison  died  Clay  was  not  yet  firm  in  his 
seat,  and  what  he  lost  was  what  he  had  hoped 
for  rather  than  what  he  had  realized.  When 
McKinley  died,  Mark  Hanna's  peculiar  but  force 
ful  plans  had  been  in  complete  operation  for 
four  years;  he  had  secured  their  endorsement  for 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  257 

another  term ;  had  tasted  one  lease  of  great  power 
and  influence  to  the  full;  and  was  just  preparing  for 
another  four  years  of  even  more  thorough  control. 
No  matter  how  great  or  how  dominant  one  may 
insist  that  McKinley  was,  no  one  questions  that 
the  days  of  McKinley  were  full  of  sunshine  for 
Mark  Hanna  and  his  compact,  thoroughly  organised 
political  machine.  For  nobody  questions  that 
Mark  Hanna  had  a  great  machine,  whether  it  was 
a  good  or  a  bad  machine;  or  that  he  was  the 
chauffeur,  whether  McKinley  was  owner  or  merely 
an  honoured  guest.  And  no  machine  ever  had  a 
harder  or  more  sudden  jolt  on  the  highway  of 
politics  than  did  Mark  Hanna 's  when  McKinley 
died  and  Roosevelt  mounted  in  his  place. 

The  world  can  never  know  what  Mark  Hanna 
and  his  political  syndicate  felt  when  McKinley 
died,  or  how  in  their  inmost  hearts  they  welcomed 
the  advent  of  his  successor,  or  how  he  in  his  inmost 
heart  regarded  them. 

He  was  and  is  a  person  altogether  different  in 
temperament,  and  in  party  associations,  from 
McKinley.  Andrew  Johnson  himself  differed  no 
more  radically  from  Lincoln  than  did  Roosevelt 
from  McKinley.  As  for  Mark  Hanna  and  the 
style  of  political  management  known  as  Hanna- 
ism,  which  was  synonymous  with  McKinley- 
ism,  certainly  Roosevelt  had  never  theretofore 
operated  upon  such  lines.  The  people  loved 
McKinley;  they  seemed  to  have  faith  in  Hanna 


2 58  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

and  Hannaism.  They  were  not  prepared  to  give 
them  up  for  any  unknown  and  untried  policy  of 
Mr.  Roosevelt. 

It  is  to  the  credit  of  Roosevelt  and  Hanna  alike 
that  both  behaved  admirably  in  a  trying  time; 
and  both  agreed  that,  continuing  the  personnel 
as  well  as  the  policy  of  McKinley's  Administration, 
they  wrould  subordinate  all  antagonisms,  disap 
pointments  and  incongruities  between  them  and 
strive  together  for  the  public  good.  It  certainly 
was  not  a  natural  alliance.  No  two  men  that  ever 
came  together  in  politics  had  more  irreconcilable 
view-points,  ideals  or  standards,  than  did  Theo 
dore  Roosevelt  and  Mark  Hanna.  How  they 
succeeded  in  pulling  together  as  well  as  they  did 
for  the  common  welfare  during  the  three  years 
after  McKinley's  death  that  Hanna  lived  is  a 
wonder,  and  to  the  great  honour  of  both  of  them; 
for  while,  in  that  time,  McKinley's  policies  were 
adhered  to,  Hanna  methods  and  Hanna  dominancy 
and  men  of  the  type  which  Hanna  chose  in  the 
day  of  his  control  under  McKinley,  rapidly  gave 
place  to  Roosevelt  methods,  Roosevelt  dominancy, 
and  men  of  a  very  different  type  from  those  who 
flourished  under  Hanna. 

Whether  the  friendship  between  Roosevelt  and 
Hanna  could  or  would  have  survived  the  strain 
of  these  inevitable  changes  if  Hanna  had  lived 
need  not  be  discussed.  Outwardly  at  least  it  did 
continue  until  Hanna  died,  and  that  is  surprising 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  259 

enough  to  the  general  public,  who  had  been  taught 
to  look  upon  Roosevelt  as  rash,  and  stubborn, 
and  unyielding.  I  have  watched  him  closely,  and 
know  that  when  any  question  vital  to  his  support 
by  his  party  followers  arises,  he  is  not  rash,  or 
stubborn,  or  unyielding.  On  the  contrary,  no 
man  weighs  more  quickly  or  calculatingly  which  of 
two  inconsistent  plans  it  is  best  to  yield  in  order  to 
retain  party  support.  And  no  man  is  more  politic 
in  not  confessing  that  he  abandoned  one  purpose 
in  order  to  attain  another. 

President  Roosevelt,  in  the  early  days  of  his 
first  administration,  had  a  cherished  purpose, 
about  which  he  consulted  with  certain  of  his 
supporters,  and  he  was  discussing  plans  for  carry 
ing  it  out.  His  purpose  and  his  plans  were 
formed  in  ignorance  of  the  fact  that  they  trenched 
upon  matters  touching  which  Mark  Hanna  was 
peculiarly  sensitive.  It  was  a  time  when  a  graver 
issue  was  before  the  Senate,  upon  which  the 
Administration  had  a  very  narrow  margin  and 
concerning  which  it  was  almost  dependent  upon 
Hanna's  support,  which  until  then  it  had  received. 
The  President's  action  in  the  matter  first  referred 
to  stopped  suddenly.  His  course  became  just 
the  reverse  of  what  his  conversation  had  indicated 
it  was  to  be.  He  dropped  the  subject,  and  wisely 
gave  no  reason  for  his  change  of  policy.  His 
Senate  measures  went  through.  It  was  a  long 
time  before  those  he  consulted  about  the  first 


26o  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

matter,  and  who  had  been  puzzled  by  his  apparent 
vacillation,  realised  that  Mark  Hanna  had  warned 
him  that  if  he  did  what  he  proposed  he  would 
force  a  breach  and  lose  his  support,  and  that  then 
the  President  had  promptly  abandoned  a  cherished 
but  not  vital  purpose  to  ensure  the  success  of  a 
more  important  measure.  No  man  who  has  not 
occupied  a  public  station  or  been  close  enough 
to  those  who  do  to  watch  them,  can  form  any  idea 
how  little  of  free  agency  is  left  to  the  ablest,  and 
most  dominant  man  in  political  office,  or  how  they 
are  forced  to  "  cut  their  garment  according  to  their 
cloth,"  else  risk  alienating  indispensable  support 
and  destroying  themselves  by  antagonising  those 
without  whom  they  have  no  hope  of  success. 

Andrew  Johnson,  naturally  stubborn,  and  made 
the  more  so  by  dissipation,  undertook  to  be 
reckless  and  defiant  of  his  party  leaders,  but 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  temperate,  ambitious,  enter 
prising,  full  of  vitality,  bold  and  stubborn  in 
many  things,  understands  as  well  as  any  man  who 
ever  was  President  just  how  far  he  may  go,  and 
just  where  the  danger  line  is  at  which  he  must 
stop  with  the  men  who  are  to  make  or  unmake  his 
political  fortunes.  He  has  been  singularly  blessed, 
too,  in  the  men  by  whom  he  has  surrounded 
himself.  In  my  opinion  there  has  never  been  in 
the  Cabinet  of  any  President  an  abler,  a  wiser,  or 
a  more  loyal  counsellor,  or  one  so  well  equipped 
in  so  many  departments  as  Elihu  Root.  His 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  261 

Secretary  of  State,  John  Hay,  grew  and  expanded 
every  day  from  the  time  he  entered  public 
service  until  he  died,  and  his  Secretary  of  War, 
Judge  Taft,  is  a  man  of  extraordinary  capacity. 
I  predict,  with  great  confidence,  that  in  his 
Cabinet  will  be  found  the  Presidential  successor  of 
President  Roosevelt.  Elihu  Root  I  have  known 
for  nearly  twenty  years,  and  whatever  I  might 
say  of  his  legal  abilities,  of  his  intellectual  power, 
of  his  strong,  attractive,  cautious,  honest,  high- 
minded,  loyal  public  and  private  personality 
would  be  put  down  to  the  partiality  of  friendship. 
My  acquaintance  with  Judge  Taft  began  some 
fifteen  years  ago,  in  a  case  I  had  before  him  in 
Cincinnati,  when  he  wras  a  Judge  in  a  State  Court. 
I  marked  him  then  as  an  extraordinary  man,  and 
have  witnessed  his  successive  promotions  to 
Solicitor  General,  United  States  Circuit  Judge, 
Governor  of  the  Philippines  and  Secretary  of  War 
with  great  pleasure,  as  vindicating  my  forecast 
of  his  future.  Mr.  Hay's  growth  somewhat  sur 
prised  me,  for  I  regarded  him  as  in  early  life  a 
narrow  and  provincial  man — a  prejudice  derived 
from  some  unjust  criticisms  of  my  father  in  his 
"  Life  of  Lincoln  " ;  but  I  am  frank  to  admit  that  I 
accept  the  public  estimate  of  Mr.  Hay  as  a  man  of 
very  remarkable  talents  and  culture.  No  piece  of 
oratory  delivered  in  my  day  has  surpassed,  if  it  even 
equalled,  the  speech  of  John  Hay  upon  McKinley, 
delivered  before  the  two  Houses  of  Congress. 


262  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

I  oug  t  to  state  emphatically  that  in  what  I 
have  written  or  shall  add  concerning  President 
Roosevelt,  I  have  violated  no  confidence  of  his, 
for  he  has  never  taken  me  into  his  confidence. 
Nor  is  anything  I  have  said  derived  from  or 
inspired  by  anything  he  has  ever  said  to  me  about 
the  things  discussed.  They  are  deductions  and 
conclusions  of  my  own  mind  concerning  what  a 
man  of  his  acumen  and  intelligence  must  have 
seen  and  must  have  felt  about  matters  and  conduct 
the  nature  and  inspiration  of  which  was  plain  to 
everybody.  Our  relations  have  always  been  ex 
ceedingly  friendly,  but  never  intimate  to  the 
point  that  I  would  feel  that  in  recounting  them 
I  was  improperly  drawing  aside  the  curtain  of 
privacy,  and  the  general  interest  in  the  President 
is  such  that  I  feel  justified  in  presenting  him  as  he 
is.  He  is  one  of  the  most  natural  and  unaffected 
men  I  ever  knew,  sometimes  so  even  to  the  point 
of  boyishness.  I  remember  one  day  when  I  was 
with  him  at  luncheon  in  the  White  House.  The 
remarkable  influence  of  the  Dutch  upon  American 
institutions  has  been  a  fad  with  me  for  many 
years.  For  example,  the  Mecklenburg  resolutions 
are  largely  plagiarised,  or  at  any  rate  pursue  the 
language  of  the  first  address  of  the  States-General 
in  Holland.  And  our  flag  is  nearly  like  the  flag  of 
the  Dutch  Republic.  And  we  adopted  our  school 
system  from  them,  and  our  system  of  Prosecuting 
Attorneys,  and  I  don't  know  what  else.  Years 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  263 

ago  I  delivered  an  address  on  the  subject.  When 
I  began  to  talk  about  it  Roosevelt  intimated  that 
I  was  only  flattering  him.  I  replied  by  telling 
him:  "I  knew  and  said  these  things  when  you 
were  a  boy."  After  luncheon  he  invited  me  to  go 
with  him  to  his  office  and  examine  some  new 
German  rifles.  On  arriving  there  we  found  some 
very  obsequious  Germans  who,  after  profound 
bows,  showed  their  weapons.  The  President  was 
much  pleased  with  the  mechanism  of  the  guns  and, 
seizing  one,  worked  it,  threw  it  up  to  his  shoulder, 
pointed  it  out  of  the  window,  clicked  it,  tested  it, 
and  finally,  with  the  enthusiasm  of  a  boy,  passed 
it  over  to  me  for  examination,  exclaiming:  "  By 
George!  Look  at  it!  Ain't  that  bully?"  I  won 
dered  whether  the  Germans  had  ever  heard  the 
Kaiser  talking  about  bully  things. 

The  thing  that  has  pleased  me  most  in  my 
visits  to  Mr.  Roosevelt  is  his  relations  with  his 
children.  When  they  are  together  they  are  all 
boys  and  girls  and  all  Presidents.  One  day  at 
luncheon  young  Teddy  was  deeply  interested  in  a 
game.  I  proposed  to  teach  them  one  that  the 
player  can  win  only  once  in  a  thousand  times. 
So,  after  luncheon,  on  a  big  marble  table  in  the 
hallway,  the  children  and  I  had  our  fun,  and  I  feel 
sure  the  President  regretted  as  much  as  any  of  us 
that  business  prevented  him  from  taking  part  in 
the  sport. 

Another  time  when  I  called  he  had  a  great  red 


264  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

abrasion  upon  his  forehead  which  looked  as  if 
some  one  had  sandpapered  him.  "  What's  that? " 
said  I.  "Why,  my  horse,"  said  he,  with  a  strong 
qualifying  adjective,  "stuck  his  foot  in  a  hole  in  a 
bridge  and  fell,  nearly  breaking  my  neck,"  and  he 
laughed  at  it  as  if  it  was  a  good  joke.  "Too 
strenuous!"  said  I.  'Take  this  and  it  will  cool 
your  blood  and  keep  you  from  riding  so  hard."  I 
passed  him  a  little  bundle  of  sassafras  bark  which 
I  had  bought  in  the  Washington  market  from  an 
old  coloured  woman,  intending  to  make  sassafras 
tea  of  it,  to  remind  me  of  the  time  when  I  was  a 
boy  in  the  country.  "  What  is  it  ?  It  smells  good," 
said  he.  I  told  him.  "I'll  take  it  and  make  some 
tea.  Have  no  doubt  it  is  good. ' '  He  seldom  forgets 
anything,  and  the  next  time  I  saw  him  reminded 
me  of  it  and  said  every  child  in  the  house  had  had 
a  try  at  it. 

When  I  want  anything  from  President  Roosevelt 
I  can  tell  in  a  minute  whether  I  will  get  it  or  not. 
I  do  not  want  much,  but  when  I  do  I  want  it 
right  away  or  not  at  all.  So  when  we  meet  I  am 
apt  to  say:  "Mr.  President,  I  want  so  and  so." 
If  he  will  not  do  it  he  says  so,  and  that  ends  it. 
If  he  hesitates,  I  can  generally  tell  by  the  questions 
he  asks  whether  he  will  or  will  not  do  it.  If  he 
says  "All  right,"  then  I  know  it  will  be  done  and 
done  quickly.  On  a  certain  occasion  I  asked  him 
to  help  me  have  a  friend  retained  in  office.  He 
agreed  to  do  so,  and  at  once  called  a  stenographer 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  265 

and  began  to  dictate.  He  was  going  so  fast  it 
nearly  took  my  breath  away.  The  things  he 
began  to  dictate  were  all  wrong.  I  began  to  cor 
rect.  We  both  exploded  with  laughter.  "  Here," 
said  he,  giving  it  up,  "you  dictate  it.  I'll  sign  it. 
Sign  anything  that  does  not  involve  me  in  paying 
any  money," — and  the  business  was  done. 

Another  time  I  went  there  and  he  asked  me  to 
tell  him  about  a  certain  man  he  was  considering 
for  office.  I  spoke  well  of  him.  I  thought  he 
was  probably  going  to  act  in  a  month  or  so. 
Imagine  my  surprise  the  following  evening,  on 
taking  up  the  evening  paper,  at  seeing  that  the 
man's  name  had  been  sent  to  the  Senate  even 
before  my  letter  advising  him  to  get  endorsements 
had  reached  him. 

Napoleon  in  his  palmiest  days  never  insisted 
upon  "  Activite — Celerite — Activite  "  more  strenu 
ously  than  does  Roosevelt. 

I  never  have  exactly  understood  just  why  the 
President  invited  Booker  Washington  to  lunch  with 
him,  nor  do  I  care.  I  think  the  Southern  people 
have  made  themselves  ridiculous  about  it  and 
given  it  an  importance  that  is  absurd.  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  discuss  a  question  like  that 
without  being  misapprehended.  I  do  not  care 
what  one's  views  on  the  subject  may  be,  there 
are  circumstances  under  which  a  man,  however 
prejudiced,  may  find  himself  in  a  position  in 
which  to  raise  a  point  like  that  would  give  it 


266  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

undue  importance  and  render  himself  absurdly 
conspicuous.  I  do  happen  to  know  that  President 
Roosevelt  is  not  an  advocate  of  social  equality. 
Know  it  from  things  which  he  has  said  so  often  in 
public  that  the  same  things  said  in  private  would 
not  be  confidential.  Suppose  that  in  his  public 
position  as  President  of  the  United  States  he  feels 
that  it  is  not  below  his  dignity,  but  quite  in  the 
line  of  his  duty,  upon  meeting  a  distinguished, 
good  and  representative  man  of  the  black  race,  not 
to  discriminate  against  him  on  account  of  his 
colour  but  to  pay  him  the  same  compliment  of 
entertainment  that  he  pays  to  distinguished  white 
men  every  day.  Now  if  the  man  had  been  an  Indian 
nobody  would  have  criticised  it.  The  Presidents 
have  been  entertaining  Indians  from  the  time  of 
Andrew  Jackson.  It  does  not  mean  anything  but 
what  it  is.  A  public  courtesy,  a  passing  insignifi 
cant  courtesy.  To  deny  it  would  certainly  be  a 
pointed  discrimination  against  him.  All  one  can 
say  is  that  he  would  have  made  the  discrimination. 
Grant  it.  Suppose  he  would  have  done  so. 
Still,  is  it  a  thing  of  such  vital  importance  that  we 
must  have  an  irreconcilable  feud,  prejudice  and 
hatred  against  a  gentleman  admirable  in  other 
respects  for  having  differed  with  us  on  so  trivial 
a  matter?  By  making  the  point  do  we  not  give 
the  incident  an  importance,  a  significance,  an 
effect  far  beyond  that  to  which  it  is  entitled? 
I  noticed  that  in  Richmond  not  long  ago,  and 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  267 

long  since  the  Booker  Washington  episode,  Mr. 
R.  C.  Ogden  was  royally  entertained  by  the 
representative  people  of  the  city — by  the  very 
people  who  were  most  bitter  in  their  denunciation 
of  the  President  for  entertaining  Booker  Washing 
ton.  It  is  proper  that  the  Richmond  people  should 
have  entertained  Mr.  Ogden.  He  is  a  most 
worthy  private  citizen.  He  is  rich  and  philan 
thropic,  and  deeply  interested  in  educational  ques 
tions,  especially  questions  pertaining  to  the 
education  of  the  negro.  But  Mr.  Ogden  certainly 
has  views  upon  the  subject  of  social  equality  much 
more  radical  than  any  entertained  by  President 
Roosevelt.  Mr.  Ogden  receives  and  entertains 
Booker  Washington  as  an  honoured  guest  in  his 
private  house.  He  goes  to  Mr.  Ogden's  and  re 
mains  days  at  a  time.  He  sleeps  in  Mr.  Ogden's 
beds,  and  sits  at  the  table  with  the  family,  and 
conducts  family  prayers,  and  does  all  the  things 
which  any  white  guest  might  do ;  and  one  might 
talk  to  Mr.  Ogden  for  the  remainder  of  his  life 
without  exciting  in  his  mind  the  slightest  prejudice 
against  Booker  Washington  or  making  him  feel 
that  there  is  any  sense  in  our  race  prejudices.  I 
say  our  race  prejudices  because  I  confess  frankly 
that  I  am  a  Southern  man  and  have  race  preju 
dices,  and  that  it  is  altogether  likely  that  if  I  had 
been  in  President  Roosevelt's  place  I  would  no 
more  have  invited  Booker  Washington  to  lunch 
with  me  than  would  have  others.  I  confess 


268  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

it.  It  may  be  a  weakness  and  a  prejudice,  but  it 
is  one  I  cannot  control  any  more  than  I  can  master 
other  prejudices  that  control  me.  And  anyone 
is  welcome  to  all  the  comfort  he  can  get  out  of  that 
confession.  But  what  I  do  not  understand  and 
what  I  want  my  Southern  brother,  with  a  common 
prejudice,  to  explain  to  me  is  this:  How  is  it 
and  why  is  it  that  they  ignore,  or  overlook,  or  con 
done  Mr.  Ogden's  private  practice  of  social 
equality  and  entertain  him,  but  grow  frantic 
about  the  formal  recognition  of  Booker  Washington 
by  President  Roosevelt,  and  even  refuse  to  support 
his  party  for  that  reason,  often  at  the  same  time 
agreeing  with  its  principles  ?  Now  is  it  not  making 
a  mountain  out  of  a  mole-hill?  [Let  me  whisper 
something  in  their  ears  that  will  show  what  an 
unnecessary  excitement  this  is.  You  do  not 
believe  that  Governor  Montague  of  Virginia 
favours  social  equality,  do  you  ?  Surely  you  ought 
not  to  think  so,  for  you  remember  that  he  pro 
claimed  the  new  Constitution  which  disfranchised 
all  the  negroes  without  submitting  it  to  the  people 
as  was  promised.  Now  you  remember  that 
Governor  Montague  has  been  placed  by  Mr.  Ogden 
on  his  Board  of  Trustees  of  Tuskegee  College; 
that  he  attends  the  meetings  of  that  Board; 
that  he  is  often  thrown  into  association  with  the 
president  of  the  college,  Booker  Washington. 
Some  day  slip  up  quietly  to  him  and  ask  him  to 
look  you  in  the  eye  and  tell  you  truthfully  whether 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  269 

in  his  numerous  visits  to  Tuskegee  and  elsewhere, 
on  business  of  the  college  with  his  old  friend 
Ogden,  he  has  sat  at  the  table  with  Booker  Wash 
ington  or  other  black  men.  I  do  not  say  it  is  so, 
but  if  it  is  not  so,  there  has  been  a  great  amount 
of  managing  to  avoid  it.  If  it  be  so,  how  absurd 
you  will  feel  when  you  find  that  leading  repre 
sentative  men  in  the  party  which  has  raised 
all  this  hue  and  cry  against  the  President  have 
been  doing  the  very  thing  for  which  you 
have  been  abusing  him  and  by  which  you  have 
been  wrought  up  to  such  an  excitement.  And 
whether  these  things  have  been  done  or  not, 
how  absurd  it  is  to  consider  them  as  having  any 
bearing  whatever  upon  the  great  question  of 
social  equality.  Nobody  can  fix  a  hard-and-fast 
rule  for  another  whereby  to  judge  him  by  a  single 
act.  Circumstances  alter  cases.  Finally,  is  it 
not  a  reflection  upon  the  intelligence  of  the 
Southern  people  that  they  permit  themselves  to 
be  lashed  into  feverish  excitement  by  so  small  an 
affair.  Viewed  simply  from  the  standpoint  of  his 
personal  popularity  for  the  time  being,  President 
Roosevelt's  act  was  unwise,  and  as  it  was  also 
unnecessary  it  may  have  been  impolitic  from  a 
political  standpoint,  for  just  at  that  time  he 
undoubtedly  had  caught  the  eye  of  the  South,  and 
the  Southern  people  were  preparing  to  give  him 
a  support  which,  although  it  was  qualified,  was 
far  more  enthusiastic  than  that  they  had  accorded 


270  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

to  any  of  his  Republican  predecessors,  even  to 
McKinley,  who  had  made  a  decided  impression  on 
the  Solid  South.  Truth  was,  they  were  ashamed 
of  their  support  of  Bryan  and  sick  of  Democratic 
broken  promises.  Roosevelt,  half  a  Southerner 
himself,  has  many  characteristics  that  captivate 
them.  They  like  his  books  about  hunting  and 
his  hustling,  open-air  ways.  They  are  proud  of  his 
Rough  Riders.  They  saw  him  riding  into  danger 
with  the  dash  and  recklessness  of  a  Southern 
cavalryman.  They  read  his  glorious  tribute  to 
Robert  E.  Lee.  They  believe  he  is  honest  and 
broad-minded  himself,  and  intends  to  be  President 
of  the  whole  Nation,  frowrn  on  sectionalism,  and 
demand  honesty  and  capacity  from  his  appointees. 
Within  my  own  knowledge  clubs  were  forming,  in 
sections  theretofore  solid  in  opposition,  composed 
of  men  who  never  theretofore  voted  the  Republican 
ticket,  to  be  called  Roosevelt  Clubs  and  organized 
upon  the  basis  of  non-partisan  support  of  Roose 
velt  because  of  his  high  principles  and  broad 
policies.  Of  course  that  was  the  entering  wedge 
for  breaking  up  the  blighting  insanity  of  their 
past  subservient  allegiance  to  anything  bearing 
the  name  of  Democracy.  And  the  Southern 
Bourbon  leaders  were  thoroughly  alarmed  about 
the  movement.  I  was  delighted  at  the  prospect, 
and  was  quietly  working  like  a  beaver  to  bring 
about  the  result  outlined  above.  But  great 
results  are  of  times  thwarted  by  very  little  things. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  27! 

I  remember  seeing  a  fine  negro  ball  in  a  barn 
broken  up  on  a  certain  occasion  by  the  appearance 
of  a  very  small  polecat.  He  was  roused  from  his 
winter  resting  place  by  the  furious  dancing  on  the 
floor.  Nobody  expected  him,  but  he  came,  and 
after  he  came  the  company  departed,  and  not 
even  the  tempting  odours  of  roast  pig  and  country 
sausage  could  induce  the  dusky  company  to 
return  to  the  feast.  By  the  time  the  intruder 
was  disposed  of,  the  original  purposes  of  the 
gathering  were  lost  sight  of  amid  the  lingering 
perfumes  of  the  unexpected  guest.  I  need  hardly 
point  the  moral  of  this  story. 

If  the  President  had  ever  taken  me  into  his 
confidence  I  would  not  now  venture  to  say  that 
I  feel  sure  he  has  many  times  realised  that  the 
episode  was  unfortunate ;  but  he  has  had  the  good 
sense  not  to  make  any  admission  about  it. 

There  is  one  thing  about  Roosevelt.  He  can 
fall  down  and  get  up  again,  and  then  go  faster 
than  the  average  man  who  never  stumbles. 

His  apprehension  is  as  keen  and  quick  as  that 
of  any  man  I  ever  saw.  His  apparent  impatience 
with  some  people  is  not  impatience.  It  arises 
from  the  fact  that  he  often  understands  a  matter 
before  the  person  stating  it  thinks  he  has  made  it 
comprehensible. 

The  President  is  charged  with  having  one  fault 
that  many  men  regard  as  a  virtue,  to  wit,  a 
partiality  for  his  friends  and  an  overestimate  of 


272  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

their  abilities.     The  most  notable  instance  gener 
ally   cited   is   his   promotion   of   Leonard   Wood. 
Even  that  has  two  sides  to  it.     It  may  be  conceded 
that  General  Wood  is  not  a  man  of  such  pre 
eminent  worth   and   capacity   that,   without  the 
partiality    of    the    appointing    power,    he    would 
have  been  promoted  as  he  was.     It  may  likewise 
be  conceded  that  his  promotion  over  the  heads  of 
many  other  deserving  men  was  a  hardship  upon 
them  and  was  inconsiderate  of  their  fair  expecta 
tions.     But  the  first  promotion  of  Wood  was  by 
McKinley,  whose  family  physician  he  was.     When 
the  question  came  to  Roosevelt  it  was  not  one  of 
first  impression.     Let  any  man  who  is  disposed  to 
blame   Roosevelt   for   what   he   did   consider   his 
relation  to  Wood.     To  have  refused  to  do  what 
he  did  would  have  been  worse  than  doing  nothing. 
It  would  have  been  to  refuse  a  true  and  tried  friend 
a  recognition  of  rights  conferred  by  a  predecessor; 
to  actually  turn  him  down  and  turn  him  back.    Let 
any  man  who  knows  the  bond  and  the  power  of  old 
army  friendships  consider  this  before  he  blames 
Roosevelt.     If  he  is  partial  to  old  friends  it  is  a 
venial    weakness.        Many    a  politician  has  been 
wrecked  by  ingratitude,  but  few  have  been  punished 
for  loyalty  to  friends.      Not  many  men  in  his  posi 
tion  have  such  a  number  of  warm  personal  friends 
that  their  advancement  imperils  the  public  service, 
and  the  generous   American  people  have  always 
condoned  this  tendency  in  their  public  men. 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  273 

President  Roosevelt  has.  in  my  opinion,  one 
grave  defect.  A  defect  which  may  not  weaken 
his  personal  strength,  because  he  has  declared  that 
he  will  not  be  a  candidate  for  reelection,  but  which 
tends  to  the  injury  of  the  party  which  he  ought 
to  protect.  He  admits  to  his  councils,  and  is 
advised  by  and  apparently  follows  sometimes,  the 
advice  of  men  who  are  not  Republicans  or  even 
representatives  of  any  political  ideas.  It  is  a 
mistake  on  his  part  to  think  that  because  they  are 
congenial  socially,  or  intelligent,  or  have  other 
tastes  in  common  with  him,  he  ought  to  invite  their 
views,  or  at  any  rate  be  guided  by  their  views,  on 
political  questions.  If  they  are  anything  politi 
cally  they  are  mere  doctrinaires,  without  political 
influence  or  following  or  title  to  political  consid 
eration,  and  if  he  listens  to  their  views  he  will 
soon  find  himself  advocating  political  something- 
nothings  to  the  injury  of  his  party  supporters. 
He  will  lose  in  his  own  party,  and  gain  nothing  in 
the  opposition,  by  admitting  such  men  into  his 
political  confidence. 

God  has  made  him  an  extraordinary  man,  with 
views  far  more  catholic,  perhaps,  than  those  of  his 
party  or  his  supporters.  But  he  is  not  likely  to 
meet  many  other  men  whose  views  are  as  enlarged 
as  his  own,  or  whose  opinions  are  apt  to  be  as 
valuable.  He  cannot  hope  to  build  up  a  new 
party  with  them,  and  as  he  cannot  he  must  be 
content  with  having  his  own  party  as  large  and 


274  RECOLLECTIONS   OF 

broad  as  he  can  make  it  with  his  own  material. 
When  he  takes  counsel  from  outsiders  he  is  running 
the  risk  of  mingling  incompatible  elements  to  the 
detriment  of  both.  A  man  of  his  worldly  wisdom 
will  not  take  long  to  discover  this;  for,  with  all 
his  wonderful  abilities  and  great  triumphs  and 
daily  improvement,  he  is  still  young,  with  much 
to  learn. 

That  he  is  possessed  of  a  strong,  powerful  intel 
lect;  a  virility  which  as  yet  feels  no  decline;  an 
ambition  that  aspires  to  all  that  is  honourably 
possible,  and  an  honesty  that  endears  him  to  his 
countrymen  is  admitted  by  everyone. 

Sometimes  the  action  of  President  Roosevelt 
upon  newly  arisen  issues  has  been  so  sudden,  so 
decisive,  so  radical,  that  members  of  his  own  party 
have  been  startled  and  even  irritated  at  his 
apparent  impulsiveness.  A  notable  instance  of 
this  was  his  almost  immediate  recognition  of  the 
Panama  Revolutionary  Government.  In  that 
case  it  did,  at  first  blush,  seem  as  if  he  was  too 
impetuous.  Yet,  when  the  public  came  to  under 
stand  the  whole  situation,  I  think  it  unanimously 
agreed  that  the  President's  action  was  fully 
justified,  and  that  his  celerity  obviated  a  number 
of  embarrassing  and  perhaps  expensive  complica 
tions  which  would  have  arisen  under  a  less  de 
cisive  course.  As  it  has  turned  out,  the  American 
people  have  attained  their  great  object,  an  Isth 
mian  Canal,  in  the  time  which  would,  under  a  less 


THIRTEEN   PRESIDENTS  275 

virile  Executive,  have  been  consumed  in  wrangling 
over  preliminaries. 

The  talk  about  Roosevelt's  imperialistic  ten 
dencies  is  mere  rival  party  babble  of  discontent. 
It  is  the  same  that  people  indulged  in  concerning 
Andrew  Jackson,  and  Lincoln,  and  Grant.  Some 
of  it  springs  from  the  eternal  jealousy  of  the  Op 
position,  some  of  it  from  timid  natures  who  are 
always  alarmed  at  the  way  in  which  bold  natures 
accomplish  things  in  a  direct,  aggressive  way. 
But  there  never  was  a  more  thorough-paced 
democrat  than  Roosevelt.  The  secret  of  his 
strength  with  the  people  is  that  he  is  so  democratic 
and  such  a  believer  in  popular  rights.  No  man 
in  America  would  be  more  fierce  or  aggressive 
than  Roosevelt  against  an  attempt  by  anybody 
against  popular  liberty.  But  he  believes  that 
popular  liberty  is  not  synonymous  with  delay  and 
doubt  and  endless  quibbling,  and  that  the  people's 
servants  ought  to  do  the  people's  will  promptly  and 
thoroughly,  and  not  crawl  up  to  and  wriggle  around 
and  climb  over  or  scratch  under  new  questions 
which  arise  and  must  arise  in  every  government 
like  ours.  His  fearlessness  in  grappling  with  and 
disposing  of  new  questions,  and  his  relying  upon 
the  people  to  endorse  him,  instead  of  keeping  such 
questions  open  until  they  fester,  is  one  great  secret 
of  his  popular  strength,  and  the  masses  have 
faith  unshaken  in  his  true  American  democratic 
instincts  and  purposes. 


276  THIRTEEN    PRESIDENTS 

No  man  has  ever  left  the  Presidential  chair  so 
young  and  still  so  full  of  the  thirst  for  life's  activi 
ties  as  he  will  be  when  his  term  ends.  It  is 
food  for  curious  speculation  to  endeavour  to 
forecast  his  future  after  his  term  shall  have  ended. 

Nothing  political  remains  to  be  achieved  by 
him.  What  else  will  he  attempt  ?  Nobody  knows. 
But  in  America  there  is  always  something  for 
everybody  to  do  or  to  attempt. 

Knowing  Roosevelt  well,  having  studied  him 
carefully,  having  oftentimes  been  startled  and 
sometimes  irritated  by  him,  yet  respecting  him 
always  and  having  faith  in  his  true  democracy ; 
finally,  admiring  him  sincerely,  and  being  deeply 
attached  to  him  for  his  fidelity  and  fearlessness, 
my  feeling  for  him  is  as  near  to  love  as  one  man 
should  have  for  another,  and  my  faith  in  his 
future  is  unbounded,  because  I  know  he  is  that 
"noblest  work  of  God — an  honest  man.' ' 


INDEX 


Acquia  Creek,  (Va.),  60. 

Adams,  John  J.,   156,  157. 

Adjutant-General's  office,  ori 
gin  of  conflicts  with  Comdg- 
General,  88. 

African  Slave  Trade,  efforts  to 
suppress  the,  21. 

Age  of  a  Boy,  how  computed, 
67. 

Alger,  Gen.  Russell  A.,  201, 
202,  227,  228,  229. 

"Aliunde  Joe,"  135. 

Allison,  Senator,  218. 

Anderson,  Col.  Archer,  89. 

Argument,  the  Southern,  about 

disunion,  69,  70. 
Aristocracy,"   the,    hateful   to 
Andrew  Johnson,  101. 

Arthur,  Chester  A.,  while  Gar- 
field  was  dying,  150;  picture 
154;  loyalty  to  party  friends, 
159,  162;  contempt  for  scala 
wags,  162,  163;  wordly  know 
ledge  and  s avoir  faire,  163, 
164;  his  dinners,  164;  true 
hospitality,  164,  165;  dis 
appointment  at  not  being 
renominated  and  death,  167; 
always  a  gentleman,  167. 

Atherton,  of  N.  H.,  friend  of 
Pierce,  39. 

Attorney-General,  some  talk 
about,  223. 


Barnes,  Wm.,  (N.  Y.),  222. 

Benedict,  E.  C,  187. 

Benton,   Miss,   Mrs.    Fremont, 

Bell,  John,  of  Tennessee,  102. 
Binney,  Horace,  10,  21. 
Bisseil,  Postmaster-General, 

177,  179,  183. 
Blackburn,     Joe,     (Kentucky), 

156. 
Blame,    James    G.,  165,    166. 

167,  201,  203,  204. 

Bland,  R.  P.,  (Missouri),  156. 

Bliss,  Cornelius  N.,  222. 

Blues,  Richmond  Light  In 
fantry,  140. 

Boggs,  Major  Francis  J.,  86. 

Bond,  Judge  Hugh  L.,   I2O,  122 

Botts,  Jno.  Minor,   17. 

Bowen,  Henry,  (Va.),  158. 

Bragg,  General  Braxton,  88,  89. 

Brazilian  Mission  to  Wise,  21. 

Breckenridge,  Clifton,   156. 

Breckenridge,  John  C.,  54,  55, 
84. 

Bright,  of  Indiana,  40. 

Brookfield,  Wm.,  222. 

Brown,  John,  70. 

Brunswick  Hotel,  (N.  Y.),  243. 

Bryan, Wm.  Jennings,  219,220. 

Buchanan,  James,  36,  52,  64. 

"Buck  &  Breck,"  55. 

Bullock,  Colonel,  243. 

Butler,  of  N.  Y.,  36. 

Butler,  B.  F.,  189. 


Baltimore,  60. 

Barbour,   John   S.,   (Va.),   156, 
159- 


277 


Cabell,  Geo.,  156,  159. 
Cadwalader,  Gen,  John,  40. 
Cadwalader,  Jno.  L.,  221. 
Campaign  of  1832  10,  n,  12. 


278 


INDEX—  Continued 


Campaign  of  1856,  54. 

Camp  Lee,  85. 

Cannon,  "Uncle"  Joe,   157. 

Capes  of  Virginia,  3. 

Carlisle,  Hon.  Jno.  G.,  155. 

Cartoons,  political,  in  cam 
paigns,  54. 

Carroll,  Howard,  222. 

Cass,  Lewis,  40. 

Charles  City  Co.,  (Va.),  27,  28. 

Chase,  Salmon  P.,  70. 

Cherrystone  (Va.),  3. 

Chesapeake  Bay,  3. 

Chickahominy,  the,  76,  77. 

Civil  Service  discussion,  246. 

Clay,  Henry,  8,  9,  10,  n,  16, 
19,  102,  256. 

Clay,  Mrs.  C.  C,  49. 

Cleveland,  Grover,  picture,  170; 
election,  171;  we  get  acquain 
ted,  172,  173;  a  love  feasr, 
173;  the  deaf  mute,  173,  182; 
as  a  companion  and  sports 
man,  1 86;  the  man  as  he  is, 
187,  190. 

Clifford,  of  Maine,  friend  of 
Pierce,  39. 

Clover  Depot,  (Va.),  89. 

Coalition  of  1840,  what,  7,  8. 

Cold  Harbor,  85. 

Collis,  Gen.  C.  H.  T.,  222. 

Colored  defection  from  Sher 
man,  202. 

Columbia,  frigate,  43. 

Commanding-General  and  Ad 
jutant-General's  office,  origin 
of  controversy  between,  88. 

Conestogo,  Valley  of,  58. 

Congressional  meanness  to  Ty 
ler,  23. 

Congressman,   155. 

Conkling,  Roscoe,   146. 

Conrad,  Holmes,   184. 

Constitution,  The,  42,  43. 

Corbin,  Gen.  Henry  C.,  89. 


Corporal    Billy    Gilliam's    fun 
eral,   187. 

"Corporal's  Guard,"  18. 
Corps  of  Cadets,  V.  M.  I.,  84. 
Cox,  Sunset,   156. 
Crazy  Quilt,  218. 
Crook,  Col.  Wm.  H.,  141. 
Cruger,  S.  V.  R.,  222. 
Cuba,  249. 

Curtin,  Gov.  A.  G.,  Penn.,  156. 
Curtis,  Geo.  William,  166,  167. 
Cushing,  Caleb,  38,  39,  40. 


Dalziel,  Mr.,  242. 
Danville,  (Va.),  86,  90. 
Davis,  Jefferson,  40,  68,  74,  75, 
79,  85,  86,  87,  88,  89,  90,  91, 

94,  95,  96- 

Davis,  Mis.   Jefferson,  94,  95. 
Davis,  John  B's.  bull,  183. 
Day,  Wm.  R.,  214. 
Dayton,    candidate    for    Vice- 

President   1856,  54. 
Deaf-mute  postmaster,  174. 
Democrats    rejoice    at    Tyler's 

troubles,   18. 
Democratic    majority    in    48th 

Congress,   155. 
Dents,  The,   124. 
Depew,  Chauncey  M.,  173. 
Dickinson,  of  N,   Y.,   aspirant 

for  President  1852,  36,  40. 
Dissolution  of  Union,  first  heard 

of,  43- 

Dockery,  of  Mo.,  156 

Donaldson,  A.  J.,  54,  56. 

Donner,  J.  O.,  242. 

Douglas,  Hugh,  Andrew  John 
son's   friend,   105,    107,    109. 

Douglas,    Stephen   A.  40,   224. 

Down-town  Club,  243. 

Drayton,  Coleman,  242. 

Drill-master,  86. 


INDEX—  Continued 


279 


Elberon,  where  Garfield  died, 
148. 

Electoral  commission  an  un 
fortunate  device,  135. 

Elliot,  Mortimer  F.,  156,   157. 

Evarts,  Wm.  M.,  140. 


Farmville,  (Va.),  90. 
Federal  Democrat,  Andrew 

Jackson,   103. 

Fillmore,  Millard,  54,  55,  256, 
Fish,  James  D.,  123. 
Fisherman's  Inlet,  3. 
Fishing  trips,  3. 
Fitz,  John  Porter,  77,  215. 
Flag,    American,    copied    from 

Dutch,  262. 
Florence,  Wm.  J.,  221. 
Floyd,  Gen.  Jno.  B.,  2. 
Food  Scarce,  drink  a  plenty  at 

White  House,  25,  26. 
Foraker,  J.  B.,   171,  204,  222. 
Fortress  Monroe,  4,  91. 
"Four     Hundred" — How     we 

served  them,  243. 
"  Frank   Pierce  will  spread 

durned   thin,"  48. 
Fremont,  Gen.  Jno.  C.,  54. 
French,  clerk,  House  of  Reps., 

38. 

French  mission,  21. 
French,  Steve,   150. 
Fry,  Col.  Horace  B.,  150. 


"Gallant  Harry  of  the  West," 

II. 
Gardner,  beautiful  Julia,  Mrs. 

Tyler,  21,  22. 
Garfield,    James    A.,    picture, 

144;    appearance,    145,    146; 


row  with  Conkling,  146;  cod 
dling  political  enemies,  146; 
queer  stories  about  him,  147; 
assassination,  148;  dying 
scenes  at  Elberon,  148  to  151. 

Garfield,  Mrs.,  22. 

Garfield  row — none  for  Mc- 
Kinley,  225. 

Garnett,  Dr.  A.  Y.  P.,  45,  46, 

47,  89- 
Garrison,  George  T.  (Va.),  156, 

158,  159- 

General  Staff,  why  formed,  88. 
Gentleman,     what     constitutes 

one  in  America,  a  question, 

167. 
George,  Col.  P.  R.,  President 

Pierce's  friend,  35,  39,  41. 
Gilmer,  Secretary,  killed,  22. 
Glad  I  sided  with  the  South, 

72,  73- 

Goff,  Nathan,  157,  223,  224. 
Gracie,  Mr.  Archibald,  243. 
Gracie,  General,  243. 
Grant,  George  De  Forest,  242. 
Grant,   Gen.   Fred   Dent,  124, 

245- 

Grant,  Gen.  U.  S.,  picture,  114; 
referred  to,  84;  first  meeting, 
115;  very  democratic  man 
ners,  116;  very  inquisitive, 
116;  the  distillery  case,  112; 
Grant  and  Ward,  122;  my 
father  and  Grant,  123,  124; 
on  Confederate  leaders,  125; 
changes  in  his  fortune,  126- 
7-8;  feeling  to  Confederates 
128,  129,  275. 

Grant,  Mrs.  Gen.  U.  S.,  123; 
124. 

Gray,  Judge,   122. 

Greeley,  Horace,  70,  95. 

Greenville,     Tennessee,   105. 

Gresham,  Walter  Q.,  201,  203, 
204. 


28o 


— Continued 


H 

Hamilton,  Robt.  Ray,  243. 

Hampton  (Va.),  4,  5. 

Hanna,  Mark,  256,  257,  258. 

Hanover  Junction,  85. 

Hardee,  General,  88. 

Harris,  Mr.,  of  Va.,  36,  39. 

Harrison's  Landing,  94. 

Harrison,  Burton,  N.,  79. 

Harrisons,  the  Virginia,  195, 
196,  197. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  171,  173, 
174;  picture,  194;  first  ac 
quaintance,  195;  some  Har 
rison  traits,  196;  his  antece 
dents  and  appearance,  197-8; 
peculiarities,  198,  191;  how 
nominated,  204;  appreciation, 

205,  206;  visit  to  his  home  and 
how  he  carved  turkey,    206; 
sends  my  boy  to  West  Point, 

206,  207;     Mrs.    Harrison's 
death,  207,  208. 

Harrison,  Russell,  244. 

Harrison,  Gen.  Wm.  H.,  7,  8,  9, 
n,  12,  14,  15,  16,  18,  256. 

"Hasty  plate  of  soup,"  Gen 
eral  Scotts',  42. 

Hatch,  Wm.  H.,  Missouri,  156. 

Havre,  de  Grace,  59,117. 

Hay,  John,  261. 

Hays,  Gen.  "Billy,"  of  the  100 
guns,  92,  93,  94. 

Hayes,  President  R.  B.;  pic 
ture,  132,  133,  136,  137;  Mrs. 
Hayes,  138,  139;  Webb  Hayes 

141. 

"Head  Captain  Tyler  or  die,'* 
John  Minor  Botts,  17. 

Heckscher,  John,  242. 

Heintzelman,  General,  77. 

Henderson,  David   B.,   157. 

Hepburn,  W.  P.,   157. 

Herbert,  Hilary  A.,   156. 


Herrick,  Myron,  T.,  221. 
Hewitt,  Abram   S.,   156. 
Higgins,  Anthony,  242. 
Higgins,  Jno.  C.,  242. 
High   Bridge,  Va.,  86. 
Hiscock,  Frank,   157. 
Hobart,  Garret  A.,  222. 
Holman,  of  Ind.,   156. 
Hood,  Gen.  Jno.  B.,  87. 
Hooper,  Benj.  S.,   158. 
Hopkins,  Capt.  Stephen,  42. 
How  McKinley  became  a  ma 
son,  215. 

Hoyt,  Jas.  H.,  221. 
Huger,  Gen.  B.,  76. 
Hughes,  Judge  Robt.  W.,  119, 

120. 

Hunter,  R.  M.  T.,  40. 
Hygeia  Hotel,  4. 


Ingersoll's  blunder,  203. 
Ingersoll,   Col.   Robt.   G.,   189, 

2O2. 

Irving,  Henry,  220,  221. 


Jackson,  Andrew,  18,  102,  103, 

275- 

Jackson,  Stonewall,    79,  84. 
Tames  River,  4. 

amestown,  5,  182. 

efferson,  Jos.,  220. 

im  the  butler,  3. 

ohnson,  Andrew,  picture,  loo; 
his  career,  101,  102;  social 
conditions  in  Tennessee,  104. 
struggles  upward,  105,  107; 
how  Southerners  regarded 
him,  107-8;  at  my  wedding, 
109-110;  his  compliments  to 
my  father,  no;  his  habits, 
257,  260. 


INDEX— Continued 


281 


Johnston,  Gen.  Joseph  E.,  76, 

87,  125- 
Jones,  Congressman,   178   179, 

184,  185. 
Judas  Iscariot  Tyler,  16. 

K 

Kean,  John,  157. 
Kelley,  Wm.  D.  (Pig-iron),  158. 
Keyes,  P.  M.,  Genl.,  137,  140. 
Kickotan,     Indian     name     for 

Hampton,  5. 
King,  vice-president,  42. 
Know-nothings,  56,  94,   no. 
Kohlsaat.  Mr.,  222. 


La  Guasemas,  jolted  hard   at, 

249. 
Lally,  Major,  President  Pierce's 

friend,  37. 

Lamb,  Jno.,  of  Indiana,  156. 
Lane,  Miss  Harriet,  58,  59. 
Lee,  Gen.  Fitzhugh,  243. 
Lee,  Genl.  Robt.  E.,  82,  87,  88 

90,  125,  270. 
Lewis,  L.  S.,  119. 
Lexington,  (Va.),  84. 
Libbey,  Harry,  (Va.),  158. 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  67,  68,  88, 

101,257,273. 
Livingston,  Carroll,  243. 
"Lions     of     the     40*8     falling 

asleep,"  31. 

Lomax,  Col.,  Tenant,  76. 
Lodge,  Henry  Cabot,   166,  167. 
"Looseanner   wuz   fur    Elaine, 

but,"  204. 

Long    Branch,   115,    148,    150. 
Long,  John  D.,  247. 
Longstreet,    Genl.    James,  82, 

243- 

Lorillard,  Pierre,  242. 
Lyons,  Hon.  James,  96. 
Lyons,  James,  Jr.,  148. 


M 

Mackay,  Jno.  W.,  173,  220. 

Mails,  how  transported  in  50*5, 
42. 

Malvern  Hill,  94. 

Manassas,  battle  of,  meeting 
between  Mr.  Davis  and  Gen 
eral  Jackson,  79,  84. 

Marcy,  Wm.  L.,  36,  40. 

Martin,  Mr.,  of  Va.,  36. 

Mason,  James  M.,  36. 

Masonry  in  war  times,  215, 
216. 

Mason,  Jno.  Y.,  23,  58. 

Mattoax,  Va.,  86. 

Maxwell,  Assistant  Postmaster- 
General,  177,  178. 

Mayo,  Col.  Robt.,  158. 

Mechanicsville,  Va.,  77. 

Mecklenburg  Resolutions,  262. 

Methods  of  travel  in  1856,   159. 

Miles,  Gen.  Nelson  A.,  89. 

Mills,  Rogers  Q.  (Texas),  156. 

Montague,  Governor,  268. 

Montauk  Point,  252. 

Morrison,  Wm.  R.,  155. 

Morton,  Levi  P.,  221. 

More  cannon  than  men,  86. 

Mosby,  John  S.,   129. 

Munn,  H.  N.,  242. 

Munn,  O.  D.,  221. 

McAdoo,  Wm.,   157. 

McClellan,  Genl.  Geo.  B.,  76. 

McComas,  of  Maryland,  158. 

McElroys,  the,   164. 

McGuire,    Dr.    Hunter,  79-84. 

McMillan,  Benton,   156. 

McKinley,  Wm.,  157,  190,  201; 
picture,  212;  first  met,  213; 
his  friend  Schaefer,  214; 
Wm.  R.  Day — how  he  be 
came  a  mason,  216;  peace 
maker,  216;  turned  out,  217; 


282 


INDEX—  Continued 


McKinley,  Wm., — Continued. 
joke  on  him,  217;  eavesdrop 
pers,  2IQ;  as  an  orator,  219; 
in  New  York,  220;  a  memo- 
orable  supper,  2'2O;  nomina 
tion,  222;  visit  to  him  and 
the  gold  plank,  222;  Mrs. 
McKinley,  224;  Platt's  sup 
port,  226;  McKinley's  weak 
points,  228,  229;  kindness 
and  amiability,  230;  Bluff 
Point,  231;  death,  233,  255, 
256,  272. 

N 

Nashville  (Tenn.),  106. 

Nat.    Rep.    Convention,  1884, 

1 66. 
Nat.    Rep.    Convention,  1888, 

201,  218. 
Nat.    Rep.    Convention,  1896, 

222. 
Nat.    Rep.    Convention,  1900, 

255- 
Navy,     Asst.-Secy.     Roosevelt, 

247. 

Nelson,  Knute,   157. 
New  Market,  84. 
Newport  News,  4. 
New  York,  122,  172,  206,  241, 

250,  251. 
Norfolk,  4,  76. 
Northampton    Co.    (Va.),  3. 
North  Anna  River,  85. 


Gates,  Wm.  C.   (Ala.),  156. 
Obsession    and    possession,  68. 
Ochiltree,  Tom,   158,  173,  220. 

"O.  D.,"  183. 
O'Ferrall,  Chas.  T.,   156,   158, 

!59-. 

Offensive  partisan,   183. 
Ogden,  Robt.  C.,  267,  268,  269. 


"Old    Fuss-and-feathers,"   42. 

Old  Point,  4,  91. 

Overseer  of  roads,  Mr.  Tyler, 

27. 


Packer,  Wm.  F.,  43. 

Panama    Revolutionary   Govt., 

274. 

Parker,     Judge    Richard,  215. 
Paul,  Jno.,   158. 
Payne,  Sereno,   158. 
Peace-maker,   the   bursting  of, 

21. 
Peachy,  Wm.  S.,   12,  13,  15,  16, 

23>  24- 
Peninsula    between    York    and 

James,  4,  76. 
Pennsylvania,    when    she    was 

democratic,  53. 
Perryville,  60. 
Phelps,  Wm.  Walter,   158. 
Philadelphia,  8,  9,  10,  1 1,  20,  28, 

29,  30,  50,  59,  61,  115. 
Philadelphia  lawyer,  10. 
Phoebus,  4. 
Phoebus,  Hotel  91. 
Phoebus,    Harrison,  91,    92. 
Pierce,    Franklin,  34,    35,    49. 
Platt,  Thos.  C.,   146,  221,  223. 

225,  227. 

Police  Board  Rows,  245. 
Polk,  James  K.,  21. 
Porter,  Gen.  Horace,  220. 
Possession   and    Obsession,  68. 
Postmaster,  a  deaf  mute,   174. 
Presidents,   list   of,   and    dates, 

and   preface,  v,  vi,  vii. 
Princeton,  frigate,  21. 
Proctor,  Redfield,  204. 
Pryor,  Roger  A.,   173. 
Putman,  Judge,  47. 

Q 

Quay,  Mat,  218. 


INDEX— Continued 


283 


Railroads,   none   about   Old 

Point  in  50*8,  4. 
Randall,  Josiah,  157. 
Randall,    Saml.    J.,  155,    157. 
Randolph,    Genl.    Wallace    F., 

92,  93- 

Ranney,  A.  A.,  158. 

Ray,  Geo.  W.,  158. 

Raymond,  Chas.  H.,  242. 

Reagan,   Jno.   H.,  Texas,  156. 

Rebel,  no  apologies,  73. 

Reed,  Thos.  B.,  (Maine),  157. 

Renchor,  Abram.,  40. 

Rice,  Gov.  W.  W.  (Mass.), 
158. 

Richmond,  a  hotbed  of  Know- 
nothings,  56. 

Richmond    &  Danville  R.   R. 
defences,  86. 

"Rolleston,"  75. 

Rosecrans,  General,  156. 

Rough-riders  formed,  248. 

Root,  Elihu,  220,  232,  260. 

Roosevelt,  Elliott,  241 , 243,244. 

Roosevelt,  Robert,  241. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  103,  166, 
167,171,237,276. 


"Safe  in  the  Arms  of  Jesus," 

Garfields'  requiem,  151. 
Sailor's  Creek,  90. 
San  Antonio,  Rough-riders  at, 

249. 

Santiago,  250. 
Schaefer,  Louis,  213. 
Scott,    Gen.    Winfield,  41,    88. 
Scott,  Rev.  Dr.,  President 

Harrison's  father-in-law,  195. 
Seigel,  Gen.  Franz,  844. 
Sergeant,  John,  8,  9,  10,  II,  20, 

28,29,30,53,157. 
Sergeant,  John,  Jr.,  157. 


Sergeant,  Wm.,  53,  59,  61,  157. 
Seven  Pines,  75. 
Seward,  Wm.  H.,  70. 
Shafter,  General,  251. 
Sherman,  John,  140,  2OI,  2O2. 
Sherman  Gen.  Wm.  T.,  88,  173. 
Sherwood  Forest,  27. 
Siboney,  250. 
Slavery,  the  feeling  about  it  in 

the  South,  69,  70. 
Sleeping   cars   not   known,  60. 
Slocum,  Gen.  H.  W.,  156. 
Smith,  Elliott,  242. 
Smith,  John,  5. 
Snipe-shooting    for    Cleveland, 

181. 

Soldiers  Home,  (Hampton),  4. 
Soldiers  Home,   (Washington), 

137> 

Sorrel,  Gen.  G.  M..,  243,  244. 
"Sorter  so  and  sorter  not  so," 

64. 


" Spoils  system,"  7. 
Spottsylvania  to  Cold 

85. 


Harbor, 


Springer,    Wm.    M.,    111.,  156. 
Staunton  River,  Va.,  86. 
Stoker,  Bram.  220. 
St.  Louis,  Convention,  (1896), 

222. 

Stonewall  Jackson,  80. 
Stonewall,  Division,  85. 
Strawberry  Hill,  77,  78. 
Supreme  Court,  20,  21,  135. 
Susquehanna  River,  59. 
Sutherlin,  Maj.  Wm.  T.,  89. 


Taft,  Wm.  H.,  261;  talks  poli 
tics  too  much,  183. 

Tampa,   Rough-riders   at,  249. 

Taylor,  Gen.  Zachary,  88. 

Third  Alabama  Regiment,  75. 
76,  77- 


284 


INDEX— Continued 


Thompson,    Miss,     friend      of 

Pierce,  39. 
Thompson,  Richd.,  of  Indiana, 

218. 

Tilden,    Samuel    J.,   134,    135. 
"Tippecanoe   and   Tyler  too," 

8,  17- 
"io    the    victors     belong    the 

spoils,"   17. 

Too  late  for  promotion,  95. 
Tucker,  Rev.'s,  joke,  224. 
Tucker,    Jno.    Randolph,   156. 

159. 

Tucker,  H.  St.  George,   184. 
Turner,    J.    Marshall,   177-184. 
Turner,  of  Georgia,  217. 
Tyler,  John,  2-32,  256. 
Tyler,  Mrs.,  21,  22,  31. 

U 


Union  of  the  Whigs  for  the  sake 

of  the  Union,  8,  9. 
Upshur,  Abel  P.,  secretary, 

killed,  21,  22. 
U.  S.  flag,  an  old  friend,  43. 
Underwood,  Judge  J.  C.,   118. 
U.  S.  Atty.  in  Va.,   155. 
U.  S.  Atty.  in  N.  Y.,  224,  225. 
Union   League  Club,   Chicago, 

219. 
U.  S.  Mil.  Academy,  207. 


Van  Burenism,  7,  9,  17. 
Virginia   thoroughbred    speech, 

205. 

Virginia  Mil.  Ins.,  84. 
Visit  to  President  Buchanan, 

59,  60. 
Vroom,  Hon.  Peter  D.,  580 


W 

Wade,  Ben.,  70. 
Walker,  Gen.  R.  L.,  78. 
Walkerton,  Va.,   174,  181. 
Wallace,    McKinley    opponent, 

157- 

Ward,  Ferdinand,   123. 

Washburn,  W.  D.,   158. 
Washington,  Booker,  265. 
Washington,  D.  C.,   13,  45,  46, 

47,60. 

Webb,  Seward,  242. 
Webb,  H.  Walter,  242. 
Westminster  K.  Club,  241. 
West  Point  and  West  Pointers, 

88,  207,  246. 
"Wheatland,"  Mr.  Buchanan's 

home,  56,  57. 
Wheeler,  Clint,   150. 
Wheeler,   General    Joe,   156, 

250. 

Whigs,  7,  8,  9,  n,  12,  102. 
White   House  dinners,  24. 
Williamsburg,  (Va.),   12,  13,  14. 
Wilmington,  (Del.),  42,   115. 
Wilson,     James,     (Iowa),   157. 
Wilson,  Wm.  L.  (W.  Va.) 
Winchester,  (Va.),  215. 
Wine,  a  plenty,  food  scarce,  26. 
Wise,  Geo.  D.,   146,   156,   159. 
Wise,  Henry  A.,   1-3,  4,  5,  6,  7, 

8,  9,  18, 19,  20,  21,28,29,  30, 

35,  43,  44,  53,  5&,  63,   II0, 

in,  123,  124,  213. 
Wise,  Hugh   D.,  93,    124,  206, 

231,  232,  251. 
Wise,  O.  Jennings,  44,  58. 
Wise,  J.  S.,   155,  158,  164. 


Young,  John  Russell,   172. 
York  River,  4. 
Youthful  impressions  of  Mr. 
Tyler,  3.  i 


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